After another performance at out-half which will have caught the attention of many, Paddy Jackson bore the air of a satisfied man after the 25-23 defeat of Toulouse on Sunday at Stade Ernest Wallon.
Nine days after humbling the French giants at Kingspan Stadium by 38-0 the Irish international believed that the two victories sent a message out across Europe.
“That was tough, and there were a lot of sore bodies in that dressing room,” he said, “but we feel we’ve done a good job. Fair play to Toulouse they kept coming at us, but I think we’ve got a really good chance to qualify out of this Pool now.
“But we now have to turn our attention to the Guinness PRO12, and do as well in the league.
“I felt the performances of the last few weeks were building to these successes, and while a lot of people were doubting us I think we’ve sent out a message now, right across Europe.”
Jackson was in imperious form, pulling the strings behind a formidable forward effort, and though insistent that it was a team effort which had completed a famous ‘double’ over Toulouse he acknowledged he’d been happy with his own display.
“Getting back-to-back games after missing a lot of the early-season matches because of the World Cup has been great, it’s my job to attack the line, not just to be a distributor but making runs of my own.”
Jackson says that when he was away with Ireland he did a lot in the gym, and concentrated on speed work, on developing extra pace:
“It is going really well just now, I’m finding time and space, so maybe I’ve added half-a-yard of pace, I’m not sure. I just know I’m more confident in my all-round game.
“I’m enjoying being part of this Ulster team, I feel I’m getting more time on the ball and I’m seeing things clearly, making decent decisions. And I really do get just as much enjoyment out of setting up other boys for scores and I believe we can move on from the last few games and grow further.
“When things you work hard at on the training paddock are transferring to the pitch on match days it’s really satisfying”, he said.
“We have to travel to Oyonnax in the Champions Cup, and it is never easy in France, but we meet them again at home and if we do our jobs, play with the intensity and enterprise we can, then we really would think about reaching the quarter-finals.
“We didn’t qualify for the knockout stages last year, and that’s unusual for this group of players, so our target is obviously clear, we want to qualify.”
For the first time in his Ulster career Jackson was sin-binned on Sunday in a rather controversial moment, and he joked that during the build-up to the game on Sunday he had proudly told a schoolboy questioner that he’d never been yellow-carded!
“I’m just glad that I was able to get back out on to the pitch and help the lads, this has been a good day – the sin-binning apart!
“But we have to regain our focus very quickly, we play Connacht on Boxing Day away, and that will be tough the way they’ve been pushing on this season.
“The weather and ground conditions will be an important factor down there, we know it will be hard but the way we’re playing at the moment, the confidence and ability we have in this squad, I’d hope we can keep this winning run going.”
Nine days after humbling the French giants at Kingspan Stadium by 38-0 the Irish international believed that the two victories sent a message out across Europe.
“That was tough, and there were a lot of sore bodies in that dressing room,” he said, “but we feel we’ve done a good job. Fair play to Toulouse they kept coming at us, but I think we’ve got a really good chance to qualify out of this Pool now.
“But we now have to turn our attention to the Guinness PRO12, and do as well in the league.
“I felt the performances of the last few weeks were building to these successes, and while a lot of people were doubting us I think we’ve sent out a message now, right across Europe.”
Jackson was in imperious form, pulling the strings behind a formidable forward effort, and though insistent that it was a team effort which had completed a famous ‘double’ over Toulouse he acknowledged he’d been happy with his own display.
“Getting back-to-back games after missing a lot of the early-season matches because of the World Cup has been great, it’s my job to attack the line, not just to be a distributor but making runs of my own.”
Jackson says that when he was away with Ireland he did a lot in the gym, and concentrated on speed work, on developing extra pace:
“It is going really well just now, I’m finding time and space, so maybe I’ve added half-a-yard of pace, I’m not sure. I just know I’m more confident in my all-round game.
“I’m enjoying being part of this Ulster team, I feel I’m getting more time on the ball and I’m seeing things clearly, making decent decisions. And I really do get just as much enjoyment out of setting up other boys for scores and I believe we can move on from the last few games and grow further.
“When things you work hard at on the training paddock are transferring to the pitch on match days it’s really satisfying”, he said.
“We have to travel to Oyonnax in the Champions Cup, and it is never easy in France, but we meet them again at home and if we do our jobs, play with the intensity and enterprise we can, then we really would think about reaching the quarter-finals.
“We didn’t qualify for the knockout stages last year, and that’s unusual for this group of players, so our target is obviously clear, we want to qualify.”
For the first time in his Ulster career Jackson was sin-binned on Sunday in a rather controversial moment, and he joked that during the build-up to the game on Sunday he had proudly told a schoolboy questioner that he’d never been yellow-carded!
“I’m just glad that I was able to get back out on to the pitch and help the lads, this has been a good day – the sin-binning apart!
“But we have to regain our focus very quickly, we play Connacht on Boxing Day away, and that will be tough the way they’ve been pushing on this season.
“The weather and ground conditions will be an important factor down there, we know it will be hard but the way we’re playing at the moment, the confidence and ability we have in this squad, I’d hope we can keep this winning run going.”