Young Jacob Stockdale has had a first NatWest 6 Nations to remember as he scored a record seven tries on his way to a historic Grand Slam title.
The 21-year-old touched down again at Twickenham on Super Saturday as Ireland secured a 24-15 win against former champions England.
And the winger admitted it was a pretty special feeling to play such a significant role throughout the Championship and particularly in the Grand Slam match.
He said: “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve felt in a rugby shirt and to get it in my first attempt is pretty special.
“To be honest I was just going out every game to try and do the best I can and luckily the tries game for me about it’s a nice accolade to have.
“It was nice to get one today and help the team get the victory. I saw Mike Brown was the last defender and there was a bit of space behind.
“I put a chip over and after that it was a mix of instinct and luckily it came off my knee and I managed to get it before it went dead.”
Ireland are up to second in the world rankings, ahead of England, following their NatWest 6 Nations triumph with just one Championship to go before the 2019 World Cup.
And Stockdale has lofty ambitions for Ireland who are due to face the All Blacks in November at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
“Your ambition is always to be the best in the world, to do that you have to beat the best in the world which at the moment is NZ,” Stockdale added.
“We’ve won a Grand Slam and that’s the first stepping stone towards being a really dominant team in world rugby – we’re sitting number two and we’ll be excited to have a crack at New Zealand.
“We’re in a really good place right now, we’ve gelled really well but we still have a lot to work on, we’re looking forward to next year’s Six Nations and the World Cup.
“We’ve got to keep training working as hard as we can and get things right.”
