BELFAST — Jacob Stockdale marked his 150th Ulster appearance with two tries against Munster in Belfast, leading out his side with daughters Phoebe and Bonnie by his side on an emotional milestone night. The 30-year-old wing, who burst onto the scene in 2016, scored twice in the thrilling draw, a week after Ulster had drawn 33-33 with Glasgow in the United Rugby Championship.
Stockdale had been forced out of the Glasgow fixture in the warm-up, delaying his landmark by a week, but said doing it at home against Irish rivals made it more special. "When I was walking out, I was like, 'I'm going to cry here'," he told BBC Sport NI. "I had to kind of pull it back a wee bit a couple of times. My family are incredibly important to me and it was a very emotional day." He added it was "an amazing experience" to reach 150 games in white and red: "When you get your first cap here, you dream about those days and to get to do it with my two daughters was amazing. Those are the memories you hold on to after you're long gone from the pitch." His first try came in the first half after beating two Munster players, with his second finishing a fine flowing move during Ulster's comeback from 21 points down at half-time.
The result means Richie Murphy's side are without a win in their opening three United Rugby Championship matches, after fighting back to secure another draw. Murphy had said his side were "playing matches like they are training sessions", and Stockdale said honesty was required. "You can't do anything else than be honest and be up front," Stockdale said. "There's no point in sugarcoating anything because that doesn't help you get better. For us, it's making sure that we're process-driven and not trying to focus too much on the outcomes."
Ulster are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Zebre in the Challenge Cup. Stockdale was key as Ulster reached last season's final, where they were convincingly beaten by Montpellier in the sweltering Bilbao heat to miss out on a first trophy in 20 years. He missed the final with a fractured cheek picked up in the win over Exeter Chiefs in the last four. "We're all still hurting a bit" from the decider, he said, adding: "Equally, we saw what we were capable of in the cup last year. It's just about putting those performances back on the pitch and I don't see any reason why we can't push on and do what we did last year, and hopefully more."
Attention inevitably turned to Ireland with the Rugby World Cup less than 12 months away. Stockdale scored 19 tries in his first four years as an international before injuries and loss of form saw him drop out of the picture, but he has worked his way back and was involved in Ireland's Nations Championship with four more November fixtures to come. His two tries came in front of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, though Stockdale said he did not realise at the time and insisted selection is "something I can't control". "I know that's a bit of a cliche answer that everybody says, but I'm just worrying about my rugby here and whatever else happens, happens," he said. Happy to be "unbelievably boring again", he added: "Genuinely, I'm just worried about the next couple of weeks with Ulster. I'm looking forward to the Zebre game, going after it and then it will be the Bulls and Stormers. Anything else that comes in a month's time or a year's time, I'll worry about it then."