Jacob Stockdale is on cloud nine following his try-scoring debut for Ireland on Saturday.
The 21-year-old took just 14 minutes to mark his arrival on the international stage with a try in the 19-55 victory against the USA. It follows a remarkable season for Ulster, during which he scored nine tries in eight starts.
"It’s a massive step-up - my lungs were burning after just the first five minutes," admitted Stockdale.
"If I’m being honest, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks but it has been made a lot easier by the other guys on the team. They have helped me integrate into the team and taught me everything that I needed to know.
"It’s a pretty fantastic experience, try or no try, but to cap it off with a score was something special.
"If you told me at the start of the season that I would be making my Ireland debut by the end of the season I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s been brilliant!"
Next up for Joe Schmidt’s squad is a tour of Japan with Tests over the next two weekends. Japan is set to host the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 and they are a rising force in the game.
Stockdale is hoping that he has done enough to earn more caps this summer, though he knows the Brave Blossoms will present a different challenge to the Americans.
"Japan are a completely different animal to the USA," he noted.
"We made a lot of mistakes against the USA and they’re mistakes we’re going to have to tidy up and correct ahead of this next game. There were a good few learning points in that game and hopefully we will be able to use them to right any wrongs."
The 21-year-old took just 14 minutes to mark his arrival on the international stage with a try in the 19-55 victory against the USA. It follows a remarkable season for Ulster, during which he scored nine tries in eight starts.
"It’s a massive step-up - my lungs were burning after just the first five minutes," admitted Stockdale.
"If I’m being honest, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks but it has been made a lot easier by the other guys on the team. They have helped me integrate into the team and taught me everything that I needed to know.
"It’s a pretty fantastic experience, try or no try, but to cap it off with a score was something special.
"If you told me at the start of the season that I would be making my Ireland debut by the end of the season I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s been brilliant!"
Next up for Joe Schmidt’s squad is a tour of Japan with Tests over the next two weekends. Japan is set to host the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 and they are a rising force in the game.
Stockdale is hoping that he has done enough to earn more caps this summer, though he knows the Brave Blossoms will present a different challenge to the Americans.
"Japan are a completely different animal to the USA," he noted.
"We made a lot of mistakes against the USA and they’re mistakes we’re going to have to tidy up and correct ahead of this next game. There were a good few learning points in that game and hopefully we will be able to use them to right any wrongs."