Arguably the biggest call which faced Andy Farrell when selecting his Ireland squad for the World Cup was whether to bring Keith Earls or Jacob Stockdale for his final spot among the backs.
Ultimately, Earls would win that battle, despite carrying a niggle with him into the World Cup. The Munster man went on to announce his retirement from professional rugby soon after Ireland's quarter-final exit at the hands of New Zealand.
Given the fact that Farrell had swayed Earls to delay his retirement in the months leading up to the World Cup, it was perhaps inevitable that he would win his battle with Stockdale for the final spot in the 33-man squad. Nonetheless, there was fierce debate in the buildup to the tournament as to who had done more to earn said spot.
Stockdale was left disappointed by the call but, after starting the URC season in familiar try-scoring form for Ulster, the wing says he is determined to prove Andy Farrell got the call wrong - "in the nicest way possible."
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Jacob Stockdale says World Cup omission has fuelled fire
21 October 2023; Jacob Stockdale of Ulster scores his second try, Ulster's fourth, during the United Rugby Championship match between Zebre Parma and Ulster at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma, Italy. Photo by Massimiliano Carnabuci/Sportsfile
Speaking to BBC Sport Northern Ireland, Jacob Stockdale acknowledged his disappointment at being left out of Ireland's 33-man World Cup squad, saying it had been a "huge goal" to take part in France.
Regardless, he said that he understood the reasoning behind the call made by Andy Farrell - or "Faz" for short - and that he was determined to prove him wrong with his form for Ulster:
Going to a World Cup is a huge goal for any international rugby player. I was disappointed to miss out but, at the same time, Faz has built a really good high-quality squad there with loads of competition. It was just one of those things where it made more sense for him to take other players than take me. I completely understand that.
That doesn't mean it's not disappointing and a bit frustrating, but I get it.
Particularly with the way I've been going over the last couple of months, I think it kind of fuelled the fire a wee bit more to - in the nicest way possible - prove Faz wrong.
He has certainly started with intent, with his first game of the season for Ulster seeing him run in two tries as they dismantled Zebre 40-36 on the opening weekend of the URC season.
Stockdale went on to say that he has grown as a player since his explosive 2018 season, which saw him win player of the tournament at the Six Nations after scoring seven tries in five games:
I'm very confident of that. I'm not a different player. I'm still me and if anything I feel like my game has grown. Maybe not in the scoring seven tries in the Six Nations kind of way but more the fundamentals of the game are definitely growing and I'm becoming a lot more of a solid player which is my ultimate goal.
Ulster face the Vodacom Bulls at 5pm on Sunday, in their first home game of the season. Jacob Stockdale once again starts on the wing.
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