Rugby World UK – August 2019

Old pals With his age-grade friend Andrew Porter

Break point

The build-up to that

‘no try’ v Leinster

PICS

Inpho

STOCKDALE’S

TEAM-MATES

Best dressed

Will Addison (above) – understated but

he’s still made an effort. I like his style.

Kieran Treadwell is the worst – he just

tries too hard and is all about brands.

Tightest

Luke Marshall. A Ballymena man, if he

can get away with not paying he will.

Wisest

Iain Henderson. We room together in

camp, me and Hendy. He’s a good

room-mate and if either of us put on

a playlist, 50-60% songs are the same.

Best singer

Jack Carty made his debut against

Italy and sang really well afterwards.

I remember being impressed.

move on from the past. It’s small steps

but hopefully it makes a difference.”

Religion also plays a big part in his life.

His belief that his future is out of his

hands means he doesn’t dwell for too

long on defeats. Yes, he’s disappointed

but he’ll grasp the intended lessons.

Take Ulster’s European Champions

Cup quarter-final defeat by Leinster,

when Stockdale burst past a handful of

defenders only to drop the ball over the

line. “Don’t get me wrong; I was really

upset about it and felt sorry for myself

for a day or two, but then I moved on,”

he says. “He (God) wanted me to learn

from it and I did learn a lesson.

“The big thing I’ve learnt is your curve

is not always going to rise, it will have

dips and tough times, and the more

tough times I have the more I learn to

deal with them. It’s nice not to worry

about the future. I work as hard as I can

to be the best player I can, but if it’s not

God’s plan, it’s not happening.

“Praying can help me in the middle of

a game – the last time was probably in

that quarter-final! I remember the first

time I played at the Aviva (Stadium) and

scored a try, I looked up to say, ‘Thanks

for that’. The camera caught me and

I had a weird expression on my face!”

Of course, talk of religion and rugby

leads to Israel Folau. What does

Stockdale make of the full-back’s

sacking by Rugby Australia after his

anti-gay social media posts and

Folau’s claim it is religious

discrimination?

“It’s a very difficult

situation – it’s

never going to be

black and white.

On the one hand,

I support Israel

Folau’s right to

religion and right to

freedom of speech. On

the other hand, he’s representing

Australia and the Waratahs, and he

has a large amount of responsibility

not to offend supporters. If it was me,

I’d want people to feel comfortable

coming to watch me play rugby.”

While Folau won’t be in Japan for

RWC 2019, Stockdale will be front and

centre of Ireland’s campaign. Ask him

about his World Cup memories and

he mentions New Zealand’s loss to

France in 2007 and Bernard Foley’s

try against England in 2015 that

knocked out the hosts, but it is the

2011 tournament that stands out most.

He describes himself as “obsessed”,

rising in the early hours to watch all 48

matches taking place in New Zealand.

So what of this World Cup? Can

Ireland break into the last four for the

first time? “The Ireland team has made

history before and there’s no reason we

can’t now. I feel pretty confident.”

Ireland must start well, with Scotland

first up before further pool matches

against Japan, Russia and Samoa. If, as

expected, they make it out of the group,

they will surely face New Zealand or

South Africa in the last eight. Stockdale

is aware of the size of the challenge,

but there are big motivators.

“Scotland are a very good team and

probably haven’t had the success in the

last couple of years they deserved. It’s a

nice way to start the tournament, you’re

not feeling your way in. If we beat them it

stands us in good stead to top the group.

“Joe’s leaving and Rory Best is retiring

after the World Cup, there are probably

a couple of other guys who won’t go to

another World Cup, so it’s massive. We

want to perform to our potential.”

Stockdale has done that since breaking

into the Irish team. He exceeded his own

expectations by nailing down a starting

spot so quickly and has missed only two

Tests since the start of last year. Like his

Mustang, he covers ground quickly. n

Worst singer

I’ve never heard some sing but Rob

Kearney (left) is terrible. If he’s got a

couple of drinks in him, he does a

Mumford & Sons song. Horrendous

but brilliant comedy value.

Prankster

Craig Gilroy likes a prank, so

he does. He’s pretty consistent

and likes jumping out at people.

Best dancer

Bundee Aki (above right) can throw

a move. I’ll put Keith Earls up there

as the worst – I’ve seen him dance a

couple of times and he’s not brilliant.

Team-mate you’d like to be...

Rob Kearney, to see what it’s like to

be that good-looking. Or Rory Best

to check his bank balance!