Jacob Stockdale is last line of defence for Ulster again in Pro14 clash with Leinster

Stockdale has been named as the last line of defence for Saturday’s Irish debut with Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

Stockdale could be seen as Ireland’s long term solution at full back and with Rob Kearney out of the international scene, Jordan Larmour started in the No15 in Ireland’s three Six Nations games this season.

Stockdale will be up against the 95 times capped Kearney in Dublin and admits playing with the Leinster man at international level has helped him adapt to full back.

“The experience I’ve gained on the wing has definitely helped me to play at full-back because I know what my wingers want from me,” he said.

“A large part of that was definitely playing with Kearns, playing for Ireland and just realising what he did and the communication he gave me which made my life easier and a lot more comfortable.

“In some respects, once you get that communication full-back becomes a lot easier whereas on the wing I would argue that it’s probably harder to defend, because you have to be able to defend both the front line and the back field whereas with full-back you only really have to worry about the back field unless something goes pretty wrong.”

Stockdale is hoping for a better Ulster performance against Leinster than the one that saw them cough up four tries against Connacht last Sunday.

“It definitely needs to improve massively but, to be honest, it’s very simple fixes,” he said.

“When we’re on our game we’re one of the best defensive teams in Europe which is obviously a very good starting point and foundation, but the energy and physicality has to come with that and, to be honest, I don’t think we saw that at the weekend as a team.”

Dan McFarland makes eight changes from the starting line-up that lost to Connacht.

Australian lock Sam Carter captains the side for the first time.

With a home semi-final already in the bag Leinster coach Leo Cullen has rested a host of international players.

Ulster team to play Leinster, Guinness PRO14 Round 15, Saturday 29 August at Aviva Stadium (kick-off 7.35pm, live on Premier Sports & eir Sport):

(15-9) Jacob Stockdale, Matt Faddes, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle, Ian Madigan, John Cooney;

(1-8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter (Capt.), Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.

Replacements: John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Louis Ludik.

* A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. To subscribe, click here.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor