Ulster head coach Richie Murphy is hoping for a large provincial contingent in the Ireland squad for the November internationals and has backed winger Jacob Stockdale to be one of those to make a big impact.
Andy Farrell will name his final squad as Ireland head coach before he takes temporary leave to focus on his duties as British and Irish Lions boss this afternoon, and there are several Ulster players who will anxiously be waiting to see if they have been included.
While the usual suspects such as Stockdale, Iain Henderson, Stuart McCloskey and Tom O’Toole will be included, there will be anxious waits for the likes of Cormac Izuchukwu, David McCann and Harry Sheridan to see if they have sufficiently caught the eye of the national selectors to be drafted in for games against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia next month.
For his part, Murphy hopes that he will have a large number of players linking up with the national squad after this weekend’s United Rugby Championship clash with Cardiff, and he is excited to see what Stockdale in particular can do after a barnstorming start to the campaign.
“He’s definitely working hard at his game. I suppose he’s got some confidence back — I’m not saying he wasn’t confident, he just seems to be playing with a bit of freedom,” praised Murphy.
“He’s working hard and he’s helping others around him like the younger lads in the squad. We’re really seeing the strengths to his game at the moment.
“We don’t know who’s in there but our lads have put their hands up and that’s all they can do.
“We were scratchy in the first few weeks but the last two weeks I think we’ve put in some good performances as a team and individuals within that have put their hands up, the likes of Jacob. We’ll just have to wait and see.”