Jacob: the 'supplanter'

The name Stockdale will be familiar to many within Presbyterian circles with a great number from within our denomination and beyond having benefited from the ministry of Rev Graham Stockdale. Graham has ministered in Newtownstewart and Gortin, Edengrove in Ballynahinch, Eglington in north Belfast and more latterly in Newry Hospice and Maghaberry prison.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year another Stockdale will no doubt have come to your attention of late – Jacob Stockdale – Graham’s son and the new star of Irish rugby. Aptly named Jacob, meaning ‘supplanter’, he has overthrown many opponents in his short career to date. Rarely does this young man step out onto the pitch, whether playing in an Ulster jersey or an Ireland one, without making an impression. One of his most notable appearances being back in November, when playing against the New Zealand All Blacks, he scored the only try of the match and helped secure Ireland’s first ever home win against the team, establishing Ireland as the best side in the world.

Jacob Stockdale doesn’t just stand out for his athletic prowess; something else sets this young man apart from the others and that is his faith in God. At a time when it is often difficult to share faith in the public arena, Jacob is using sport as a platform to speak about Christ publicly and to draw alongside his teammates to witness to them. He is very aware of the opportunities that rugby presents him with and he’s keen to make the most of it. Striving to be “an evangelist” where God has placed him, he is intentional about embracing the various aspects of team life, saying, “separating yourself from others doesn’t help”.

I recently caught up with Jacob to talk about the difference that his faith is making to his game, the challenges he faces and how he is coping with such a swift rise to the top of the rugby profession.

Photo by Jamie Trimble

Jacob, you were a latecomer to the sport – indeed you didn’t start playing rugby at a high level until your latter years in Wallace High School. Did it give you time to develop and mature in other ways before you had the pressures of rugby placed on you?

Between the ages of 13 and 16 I was pretty small – whenever I was around 15 I was 5’4”/5’5”. Then I had a growth spurt around 16 and when I went into Lower Sixth I started playing for the First XV. Before that I was subbing for the B team or playing for the third and fourth teams, so it was a bit of a late start for me. Until then, when rugby wasn’t an option for me, I put my focus on other things like school work, so I suppose in a sense it made me more of an all-rounded person, to a certain extent.

What does an average week look like for you at the minute? And with a busy training regime, what involvement are you able to have in church at present?

A usual week for me is to train on a Monday, I’ll be off on a Tuesday, train Wednesday, Thursday and then play on a Friday night. The advantage of playing rugby is that after the game, that’s you done for the weekend, so that’s when I’ve found time to be involved in a church. I’m very involved in Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church on a Sunday evening – I am a leader there with the youth group.

Of course, it can be tough, especially when you’re travelling here, there and everywhere. During the Six Nations tournament, I’m in Dublin for pretty much eight weeks straight; it can be tricky but it’s about finding the time for church.

Many within PCI will be familiar with your dad Graham and his ministry. What was it like growing up as ‘a child of the manse’ and how has that shaped and influenced you?

There’s a certain expectation placed on the children of ministers. For me, I enjoyed it; I always had somewhere to live, a community to be a part of. I was that kid who was at church for hours after the service had finished kicking a ball about. It was a good way to get to know people. But there is also the other side of it – you’re expected to be this ‘perfect’ child and when you don’t live up to the ideal, it results in rumours and I was always aware of that.

How do you prepare mentally and spiritually before each game?

Growing up in a Christian family, it was something you always said – that you were a Christian – it is part of your culture almost. But I suppose my first real profession was at a summer camp when I was 14. It was the first time I realised that Christianity was more than just going to church with my family on a Sunday – it was about having a relationship with God.

For me, preparing for a game starts on a Monday rather than the Friday afternoon before the game. You start mentally getting ready by knowing and understanding your opposition; as the game gets closer and the excitement builds, you work on visualisation, thinking about what you’re going to be doing. And then spiritually I prepare through prayer – that’s the biggest one for me – I pray before the game; I pray after the game; I pray during the game sometimes. It’s great to be able to do that, especially when it’s a game where things aren’t going your way – to hand it all over to God and allow him to deal with it for you.

How difficult is it to be a witness for Christ within the sporting world at the level you play at?

It can be tricky. There is a very small percentage of people who have any sort of Christian faith within the rugby world and that can be a tough challenge. It’s a challenge that I don’t always get right; sometimes I can get into fights on the pitch and do things that probably don’t point towards me being a Christian, so the challenge is trying to get it right more times than I get it wrong.

You mentioned it’s a tough environment to be a Christian in and certainly there is a perceived culture within rugby circles. What would you say is the biggest challenge to your faith?

I think it is just that – the perceived culture. I’m a firm believer that you can’t completely detach yourself from that culture because it makes it hard to socialise, to interact with your teammates. At the end of the day, the guys that I play with are my really close friends, whether they’re Christians or not. When you have team socials where there is a lot of drinking involved, you have to balance it; go, maybe have a few drinks but know when to stop drinking and be smart about it in that sense. I think it’s detrimental not to go to team socials and to distance yourself from your teammates and colleagues – at the end of the day you’re here to be an evangelist and separating yourself from others doesn’t help.

Do you think that with the likes of Ruan Pienaar, Andrew Trimble and Paul Marshall being outspoken about their Christian faith, it has made it easier for other Christian sportsmen to be bold about their faith?

Definitely. Coming into an environment like this can be quite daunting as a young guy; I was 18 whenever I started training with the senior team. That was pretty young looking back now, so having guys like that around was great in terms of moulding me and giving me the confidence to be myself. They were great guys to have around and great examples of what Christian sportsmen should be like.

You’ve enjoyed incredible success playing in the centre and wing for both Ulster and Ireland over the last few years and the last year has been particularly notable – seven tries in the Six Nations tournament, the Grand Slam and player of the tournament; the only try in Ireland’s first-ever home win over New Zealand and named the 2018 BBC Sport Northern Ireland Personality of the Year. All this at only 22 years of age! How do you cope with that amount of success and what is it that keeps your feet on the ground?

I don’t really know. When you list it like that it seems pretty hectic, but for me those things just happened one after another. In the Six Nations, I just wanted to play as well as I could and winning the Grand Slam was a great team effort. Off the back of that, I broke the record with the tries and we went to Australia and it was about wanting to win the series. Then November came and we really wanted to beat New Zealand. I think these achievements have just come off the back of trying to do the right thing, trying to prepare well for games and making sure you play to your very best every time you set foot on the pitch. Ultimately, that’s all you can do – you can’t control what happens in the game but to a large extent you can control how you yourself perform.

In terms of keeping my feet on the ground, it’s pretty easy, my family have no problem in cutting me down a bit and that’s what your friends are for isn’t it? To keep you grounded.

What has been the highlight of your rugby career so far?

I think for me it was probably winning the Grand Slam, the Six Nations, because before that I had never won any silverware for rugby so for the first one to be for a Six Nations tournament was pretty cool.

In the past year, Ulster Rugby has received some negative media attention. What would you like to be known for and remembered for during your time playing for Ulster and Ireland?

I don’t really know the answer to that question – right now I’m just trying to find my feet and I suppose to become a well-respected player. I want to be well known for the right reasons and to be respected; every time I step out onto the field I want to be the best example of me that I can be.

Looking ahead to 2019 with the upcoming Six Nations and the World Cup in Japan, what can we be praying for you as you train and play?

It’s a massive year and to be honest I won’t be there if I’m injured, so my main request for prayer would be for protection and not just for me, but for my teammates also. You don’t like to see players getting hurt and missing out on a huge opportunity like that. On top of that, please pray that I would have the wisdom to keep working hard and that I would be wise in all that I do over the next year.

Having watched and spent time with Jacob, it is obvious that God has blessed him with great athletic skill but also with the humility to handle that. While Jacob himself is conscious of this Godgiven gift and his responsibility to use it well, I wonder are we, as members of the same Church, as aware of our own responsibility to pray for witnesses such as Jacob, who occupy a unique position within the sporting world to influence many with the message of the gospel? In the same way that we pray for our mission workers, whether they be in Dromara, Donabate, Portugal or Malawi, maybe you could commit to pray for Jacob in the coming months as he serves God in his mission fields – the Kingspan and Aviva stadiums – not least during this Six Nations tournament.