Friends become foes in showdown at the Aviva

Injury updates aren’t always worth the paper they are printed on but the absence of Jordan Larmour’s and Jacob Stockdale’s names from this week’s Leinster and Ulster updates allows us a few days to contemplate a potentially exhilarating tete-a-tete. Two of the most exciting young wingers in the world game, the pair have been more accustomed to teaming up with Ireland in recent times and they may well come face to face when their provinces contest a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final in Dublin this weekend.

They bring different attributes to the table. Stockdale, the older by over a year, has seven or so inches and somewhere close to two stone on the man who is a good bet to patrol the same tramline this week given Rob Kearney’s return to full health at full-back during the Six Nations.

The Ulster man has been far more prolific with a try every second game for his club and 14 in 17 for Ireland. Larmour’s figures are hardly patchy with a dozen tries in 33 games for Leinster and four in 13 for his country. And more of his appearances for both have come off the bench. The duel, if it transpires, won’t be new to either of them.

“When he’s on the (Ireland) starting team I’m on the bibs,” said Larmour. “Training against him, he’s a quality player. He’s world-class. So we are going to have to (be) all hands on deck when he gets the ball, be ready for anything they come with.”

Larmour’s raw speed and ability to step off either foot make him a uniquely dangerous player in Irish circles. Stockdale is more of a composite conundrum, his kicking and his strength just two of the attributes that have made him such a handful for opposing sides.

“Definitely,” said Larmour. “His skillset is world-class so you give him the ball in a bit of space he will chip it over you go around you or go through you. He’s a big man. He can score a try from anywhere, so we have to be ready for that.”

Both produced breakthrough seasons last time around and, while they haven’t gone off the boil, there have been perceptible signs that both are progressing at a slightly less breathtaking speed in this campaign.

Stockdale posted 10 tries in just nine games for Ireland in 2017/18. His tally this time is three in eight. Not too shabby but a tail-off nonetheless. Larmour has stepped up his scoring for Ireland but there has been a decrease in the jaw-dropping moments that franked his emergence. The latter doesn’t demur when asked if he is a marked man now.

“Maybe a little bit. Teams are always getting better and their defensive systems are always getting tighter so it’s harder to break down. I’ve a season under my belt so people know me more now. There is more footage of me to do their homework on me but teams are getting better so those little gaps are hard to come by.”