For the next while, I will be covering Leinster\u2019s Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon, it\u2019s well poised there at 14-11 at half-time. If you would like to follow along, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Leinster v Toulon live updates: Conan and Van der Flier score tries as Leinster lead at half-timeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Check out John O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s profile on Jacob Stockdale, and his transformation as a player over the years.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Jacob Stockdale broke try records in his 20s. Now, he has a new take on performanceOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Jacob Stockdale broke try records in his 20s. Now, he has a new take on performance<\/p>\n Earlier this month,\u00a0Jacob Stockdale<\/a>\u00a0said goodbye to his 20s, a decade in which he broke\u00a0Six Nations<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ireland<\/a>\u00a0try-scoring records, won a Grand Slam (2018) and was voted player of the tournament, scored a match-defining try in a win over New Zealand, wore the green in a World Cup in Japan and crossed for 20 tries in 42 caps, all bar one in the starting team.<\/p>\n There were disappointments too. Stockdale won and lost his place on the national team, missed the 2023 World Cup in France, made just three starts in the Six Nations from 2021 to 2026 \u2013 he has a brilliant strike-rate of 11 tries in 18 matches in that tournament to date \u2013 and during the period languished in a quasi Test match purgatory, tantalised by the occasional summer or November series outing.<\/p>\n In Ulster colours he\u2019s scored 51 tries in 148 games, on the left wing, at fullback and in the centre, suffered an injury that kept him sidelined for a season, and several more that were inopportune in timing and consequence, all the while seeking to be the talisman that his talent suggested.<\/p>\n The pain and suffering have been part of a maturation process, but perhaps too the realisation that being overly self-critical can be harmful, draining the reservoir of confidence to critical levels. When fit and focused, Stockdale has few if any peers in an attacking capacity. He invariably beats the first defender, engages multiple tacklers and is a premier exponent of the chip and chase tactic.<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ulster<\/a>\u2019s game against Exeter Chiefs in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup<\/a> from the Affidea Stadium in Belfast. Ulster have a chance to win their first European trophy since 1999 and are well-placed with a home game against Exeter Chiefs. Who will prove a formidable challenge, having knocked out Munster in a previous round. But home advantage should count for something and Ulster have been boosted by some key players returning from injury. Kick-off is 5.30pm<\/p>\n Here are the teams:<\/p>\n ULSTER:\u00a0<\/b>Mike Lowry; Zac Ward, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Sam Crean, Tom Stewart, Tom O\u2019Toole; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; Dave McCann, Nick Timoney, Juarno Augustus.<\/p>\n Replacements:<\/b>\u00a0James McCormick, Eric O\u2019Sullivan, Tom McAllister, Charlie Irvine, Bryn Ward, Conor McKee, Jake Flannery, Ethan McIlroy<\/p>\n EXETER CHIEFS:\u00a0<\/b>Ben Hammersley; Campbell Ridl, Henry Slade, Len Ikitau, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; Harvey Skinner, Steve Varney; Scott Sio, Max Norey, Bachuki Tchumbadze; Dafydd Jenkins (capt), Andrea Zambonin; Tom Hooper, Christ Tshiunza, Ross Vintcent.<\/p>\n Replacements:<\/b>\u00a0Joseph Dweba, Ethan Burger, Josh Iosefa-Scott, Rus Tuima, Finn Worley-Brady, Tom Cairns, Will Haydon-Wood, Nick Lilley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Challenge Cup semi-final: Ulster 29 Exeter 12 Juarno Augustus is man of the match, speaking on Premier Sports.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[56840,18,19,17,95133,132,104349,23200],"class_list":{"0":"post-465372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-challenge-cup","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-jacob-stockdale","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-stuart-mccloskey","15":"tag-ulster-rugby"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ulster's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5M7QR3JVBVFRTDTW3S5XI334NE.jpg\")
Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale makes a break past Owen Watkin of Ospreys. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n