Jared Payne’s show of support for Jacob Stockdale switch

Payne, who won 20 caps for Ireland and went on the British Lions’ New Zealand tour in 2017, thought Stockdale handled the switch from wing to the last line of defence with aplomb against Italy last weekend.

“Saturday was great, he got the ball at the back and expressed himself, he had a good crack, he was unfortunate a try was pulled back that he set up nicely, I thought it was great,” said Payne. “His game’s going on an upward curve, he has a few kinks to iron out.

“There’s always going to be when you’re playing at the back for a first time at a decent level.

“I think the willingness to learn and willingness to attack, he’s got a good work ethic that will hold him in good stead for the future.

“The weekend was a great start, if he takes a bit of confidence from that and keeps moving forward and improving it’s exciting to see him.

“He’s realised there’s a bit more hard work involved back there.

“Some of his timing in attack he’s learning and improving on, some of his positioning in defence he’s improving on.

“It’s a big learning curve for him, he spent a lot of time on the wing, there’s always aspects he can improve on, learn and get better at.”

“The big thing for Jacob is just getting the ball in his hands, that’s when he’s really going to hurt teams.”

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