Ulster assistant coach Jimmy Duffy praised Jacob Stockdale’s performance in the aftermath of the winger’s two tries in the 36-12 win over the Ospreys.
“He’s in top form, he’s in a great space. His finishing in the corner was superb,” said Duffy on a night when Stockdale thought he had a hat-trick, his 24th minute effort being chalked off for a forward pass which was only called after the game had restarted.
“Jacob on the wing is playing out of his skin.”
In-form Stockdale, who scored a wonder try at the Bulls, looks a certainty to be called up to Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad for the autumn Tests which is due to be announced next week.
Duffy also described the six-try victory against a weakened Ospreys as hugely significant as Ulster made it two bonus point wins from two following on from the previous round’s home result over Connacht.
“(It’s) Massive for us,” said Duffy of the result against the Ospreys.
“We spoke about it all week. The interpros tend to generate their own momentum with the players, there’s a lot of national stuff on the line but we wanted to be really professional this week.
“In a large part the guys are really happy where we are. There were some big performances.”
Duffy also highlighted James McCormick’s evening; the hooker replicated Stockdale crossing for a brace of scores.
“He’s been great, I’ve worked with James with the 20s back in 21-22 and he’s been growing, this was fifth cap, and he looked really good, and he is maturing and he’s got good people around him so it’s encouraging to see him coming through.”
McCormick’s second came from a tap and go, the hooker taking the ball and smashing through to the line.
“It didn’t surprise us,” said Duffy.
“He’s a good carrier and he’s got a good attitude to learn, and we’re really excited about where he can go in the next couple of years.
“There are young guys coming through like James which is incredibly important for Ulster and the more experience you get into them that’s imperative for the club going forward,” he added.
Three Emerging Ireland players were also involved after returning from their tour to South Africa; Coramc Izuchukwu, Harry Sheridan and Scott Wilson – Jude Postlethwaite having returned early to be involved against Connacht – and Duffy was also rightly pleased with their input.
“It’s good to get them back in the mix, it takes a little bit of time to reintegrate into the system again after being away for four of five weeks.
“They’ve been great they’ve trained well and they performed.”