Jacob Stockdale has a long way to go before he can catch Julian Savea’s mark of 46 international tries, but with 11 tries in nine Tests, he’s certainly made a good start.
Stockdale scored one of Ireland’s three tries in the 24-15 win over England on Saturday as Ireland won their third Grand Slam title.
Joe Schmidt’s side moved up to second place in the World Rugby rankings behind New Zealand after the win and former Ireland international and Leinster captain Kevin McLaughlin thinks that Ireland have transformed into a team that mirror the two-time defending world champions.
“I don’t think we should get over how big of an occasion that was,” said McLaughlin on the latest episode of The Hard Yards.
“I think Ireland were so clinical and were so professional in how they went about their business. I was sitting there watching it with unbelievable confidence and I think everyone else was [too].
“I think it was the first time I’ve ever seen Joe [Schmidt] smile with about 20 minutes to go. The camera flashed to him and he had a little smirk on his face and the level of confidence that the players and coaches were feeding off each other was exceptional.
“Just because of how they went about their business I don’t think we should get over how big of an occasion it was and how incredible of an achievement it was.
“In a lot of ways you look at that in comparison to 2009 and I think it was a bigger performance and a bigger occasion.
“The way they went to Twickenham with that level of professionalism and never looked like losing.
“The last game with Wales was an absolute nail-biter, there was excitement and all that, but this was a team that was going and there was no other result happening.
“They knew from minute one, from the very first few phases that it was never going to be a different result and I think everyone had that feeling.
“It’s a mindset shift for an Irish team and it had a feeling the way the All Blacks are. That try before half-time is what the All Blacks do.
“You’re hanging on, you’re hanging on, you’re hanging on and then [Julian] Savea scores on the wing. I think [Jacob] Stockdale is like a new age Savea. He just can’t stop scoring, no one can tackle him, it’s so enjoyable.”
As it happens, Stockdale said after the Grand Slam win that this Ireland team are targeting the All Blacks in Dublin this November.
“We’ve won a Grand Slam, and that’s the first stepping stone to being a dominant team in world rugby,” said the Ulster winger.
“We’re sitting number two in the world, and we’re excited to have a crack at New Zealand. We’re in a really good place right now but there’s still a lot to work on.
“We can look forward to next year’s Six Nations and then the World Cup.
“Look, Joe (Schmidt) hasn’t said ‘New Zealand is the target’ but your ambition is to be the best team in the world and to do that you have to beat the best team in the world. At the minute that’s New Zealand.
“We’re going to keep training and working as hard as we can.”
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