Stockdale credits Farrell’s ‘honesty’ upon return

When Jacob Stockdale burst onto the international scene during Ireland’s 2018 Grand Slam-winning campaign, it seemed he was on course to become one of rugby’s biggest stars.

Seven tries during that campaign earned him the Player of the Tournament award, while another later in the year as Ireland beat New Zealand on home soil for the first time cemented those predictions.

However, loss of form and injuries conspired to halt his momentum, with Stockdale dropping down the pecking order and international appearances few and far between since the beginning of the decade. Thursday’s defeat in Paris was his first outing in the Six Nations since 2021.

A corner has been turned recently, however, with the 29-year-old’s form for Ulster earning him the nod to start ahead of James Lowe at the Stade de France, and Stockdale credits the “honest” approach by head coach Andy Farrell whose carrot and stick approach has helped him return to the big stage.

“There are times he hasn’t pulled his punches and told me what he’s thought, but there are other times he has put an arm around me and tried to encourage me,” Stockdale said in the wake of Ireland’s 36-14 loss to start their 2026 campaign.

“He has been brilliant for me and although I’d love to have played every game over the past five years, it’s not how it went.

A 41st international cap was far from a certainty when Stockdale was included in Farrell’s Six Nations squad, yet the confirmation he was to start against Les Bleus sparked a feeling of “relief”.

There were times he felt his chance may have gone, but stayed the course with his love of playing club rugby for Ulster and the hope that he could force his way back into the international reckoning.

“I wasn’t entirely expecting it if I’m being honest,” he admitted.

“I’ve come on to the last four Six Nations [squads] hoping to play a game and I haven’t so to pull that green jersey back on in the Six Nations is really special to me and something I want to do for a number of years.

It was not quite the glorious return he had hoped for with “disappointment and frustration” the overriding emotions as he and his Ireland team-mates departed the Stade de France in the wake of their chastening loss to the Six Nations holders.

With key players missing because of injury, it was always going to be a tall order to find a result against star-studded hosts who attacked Thursday’s game with intent, holding Ireland scoreless by half-time for the first time since 2020 as they raced into a 22-0 lead at the break.

There will be a post-mortem in the Irish camp to identify just what went wrong from the off with Stockdale citing “a lack of intensity” and adding the side “probably didn’t hold onto the ball well enough” through the piece.

The Ulster back-three player acknowledges they must fix their issues fast with a rejuvenated Italy the visitors to Dublin on 14 February (14:10 GMT).

“Italy are a brilliant team. Both Zebre and Treviso [Benetton] in the URC [United Rugby Championship] have shown real form and they are getting better every game.