Ireland wing ‘relieved’ to be in the mix with eyes on a Rugby World Cup spot

Ireland speedster Jacob Stockdale is looking to find a way into the side’s Rugby World Cup squad after a difficult period over the last 18 months.

The Ulster star spent just one week short of a year out with an ankle injury that proved difficult for medical experts to find solutions for.

“Tough times”

Stockdale suffered the injury in 2021, the same year as his last Test, in what has been a horror World Cup cycle for the 27-year-old.

Approaching the 2019 tournament, Stockdale was at the peak of his powers and an obvious first choice, but now he is fighting for a place in the extended squad.

The Irishman reflected on the challenging injury that has so significantly impacted his rugby development.

“I’ve had some really tough times over the last 18 months – definite downs, I didn’t know what was going on with my ankle,” he told Belfast Live.

“It was a really unusual injury that the physios had never seen before, then the specialist in London had never seen it before in a sports person, so it was uncharted territory.

“They were like ‘This is what we’ll do but we don’t have any previous experience to back this up so we don’t know what’s going to happen’.

“I didn’t know if the surgery was going to work or not, stuff like that made it an incredible place to be

“Then when I woke up the medical team went ‘how’s yer hip?’ and I was like ‘It wasn’t my hip you were doing?’.

“Turns out they went into my hip to get stem cells to put into my ankle. Luckily they sorted my ankle out when they were there.”

Challenging return

Nevertheless, the resilience of the man showed as he returned to the field for Ireland ‘A’ against an All Blacks XV at the RDS Arena, which the New Zealanders dominated in a 47-19 win.

Stockdale, however, admits that he may not have been in the best head space and subsequently his form from then on suffered.

“I think that whole November wasn’t a particularly good period for me, I was really struggling, just having come back from that injury, and then to be honest I think my head space wasn’t in the best place because I was really just trying to catch up with that ankle,” he said.

“Coming into the Six Nations camp, I trained really well but it’s incredibly frustrating obviously because you want to be involved in the games, in the team.

“That’s especially when the lads are winning every week, and kind of looking down the barrel of a Grand Slam. You obviously want to be as involved as you can in that.

“At the same time, I understood that I was out for over a year with my ankle injury and other lads took opportunities there and were playing very, very well and, as well as that, I probably wasn’t in the best form leading into the Six Nations.

“I wasn’t in the form I would have liked to have been in.”

Late form earned him a spot

He believes that the work put in during the Six Nations period is what has ultimately forced him back into form for Ulster and earned a spot in the squad.

“I think just having that six to eight-week period to really concentrate on myself and train well brought out good performances in the ‘fallow’ (mid-Six Nations URC) weeks for Ulster and, subsequently, the closing stages of the season,” he added.

“I felt I was doing well and in good form in the last four or five games of the season and that I did enough to make sure I was in this squad. I’m happy, relieved, that the hard work that I’d done over the four or five weeks led to me getting here.”

Stockdale may be in the wider squad but Ireland boasts impressive back three talent with starters Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Mack Hansen in incredible form as a trio.

With Jimmy O’Brien putting his hand up when required, it will be some effort to make it to the World Cup.

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