STOCK UP ON TRIES
JACOB STOCKDALE can go where no rugby player has gone before this afternoon - one try at Twickenham would put him out on his own.
Right now he’s level on tries scored in a single championship season with England pair Will Greenwood and Chris Ashton, plus Wales’ Shane Williams.
The Ulsterman (above) is only 21 and in his first Six Nations but try doubles against each of Italy, Wales and Scotland leaves him on the cusp of being the most prolific try scorer in championship history.
“It’s hugely frustrating,” sighed skipper Rory Best. “He’s already passed the number of tries that I’ve scored and I can’t see me getting back past him again! But he’s been really good, a lot’s been talked about his hunger and his want to learn and get better.
“Joe Schmidt is a brilliant coach and can be a really, really tough taskmaster at times. He asks a lot of you, puts you under a lot of pressure in training and there are some very good players who just can’t cope with that.
“Jacob’s not the finished article, far from it, but he wants to get better and he is improving. But his record as a finisher speaks for himself, it’s a phenomenal record.
“To do that sort of thing is incredible and I know he would be the first – well he may not be but I’ll be the first to give credit to everyone inside him, especially that backline that he plays on the edge of. And Rob Kearney behind him, helping him, that’s where experienced guys count.”