Jacob Stockdale has decided to make the very most of rugby's temporary cessation, as he explained to Off The Ball on Wednesday's OTB AM. 

From the inordinate heights of winning a Grand Slam and beating the All Blacks in 2018, Jacob Stockdale, a vital component of these twin Irish successes, didn't really see 2019 coming - let alone 2020.

Patiently awaiting rugby's return, he has been busily teasing out the belief that those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

"I've literally watched back every single game that I've played in across the last two years," he explained on Wednesday's OTB AM. "Being in lockdown has given me a massive opportunity to reflect on the past 18 months."

In his breakout year of 2018, Jacob Stockdale set the bar for his performances in an Ireland jersey incredibly high.

The scorer of seven tries as Joe Schmidt's side secured a Grand Slam triumph, it was the Ulster man's decisive try against New Zealand later that year which served to confirm the belief that Ireland were in possession of an attacking talent capable of delivering against the world's best.

"There was just that confidence there," he reflected of how he was feeling in 2018, "where I could just back myself which is probably something I've gone away from recently.

"When everything is going right, you're 21 and scoring tries, having confidence in your ability is easy. Whenever you've had a year that's a wee bit quieter though, it gets a bit tougher."

As much as he may not want to, Stockdale's wouldn't allow himself the luxury of skimming over the sorrier moments of his short career.

"If you only go and watch the nice bits, you know, you're living in a fairy-tale," he explained. "Even the very best players in the world have bad games and that is something you have to accept. So, I go back and watch every single game.

"I don't want to watch the tough bits, but I make myself watch them."

I've been trying to be too tricky when realistically I know that I'm at my best when I just run at defenders and try to get past them

So, has Jacob Stockdale determined why he couldn't continue where he had left off after 2018?

"To a certain extent, I've tried to be a bit too smart with my game," he suggested. "I've been trying to be too tricky when realistically I know that I'm at my best when I just run at defenders and try to get past them. It sounds stupid, but it is as simple as that.

"Just after we came back from the World Cup, Ulster went down to Thomond Park to play Munster and I had a shocking game. I just didn't do anything and my head wasn't in the right space.

"I remember my mentality before that game was that I was going to be really chatty and lippy to the Munster boys. I figured that I could get one up on them and after being at the World Cup and getting to know a lot of them, I thought I could get inside their head.

"Realistically though, all it did was take me away from my game and what I was able to focus on."

As it undoubtedly did for a number of Stockdale's teammates who had similarly struggled in Japan, the sense of disappointment about Ireland's performance in the World Cup lingered.

"The World Cup was the first time where I really doubted how good a player I am," he admitted. "I've definitely come through that and I'm on the other side now and really excited about rugby starting up soon.

"After the Samoa game though particularly, I felt an enormous amount of frustration. I had tried everything I could to get into the game and score a couple of tries, but it just wasn't happening for me.

"Then I was looking at Jordan Larmour and Andrew Conway, who both played really good rugby at that World Cup, and it was just getting me more and more frustrated.

One month after he celebrated his 24th birthday, Jacob Stockdale, having packed some pretty notable highs and lows into his career thus far, believes he has turned the corner on his recent disappointments.

"Whenever we played Munster at home," he recalled of the next clash between the sides after his Thomond Park disaster, "I completely flipped it and focused entirely on myself and had probably my best game of the season."

Although it is as yet unclear when rugby will return, Jacob Stockdale, equipped with the footage of his career to date, won't be left wanting for ways to be ready once things do kick-off again.

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