Alan Quinlan believes Paddy Jackson's latest form will have done him no harm in his battle to be Ireland's No 2 out-half.
The Ulster No 10 missed the Six Nations due to injury, giving Ian Madigan and Ian Keatley the chance to stake their claims to deputise for Jonny Sexton.
Speaking to Off The Ball, alongside Trevor Hogan as they reviewed Ulster's draw with Munster in the Pro 12, Quinlan says the watching Joe Schmidt would have been suitably impressed by Jackson's performance in the match.
"I think [Schmidt] will have been impressed. I've been hugely impressed by Paddy Jackson. He was - I won't say thrown in at the deep end a couple of years ago with Ireland - and it was a lot to take for a young guy, a lot of pressure and then the Heineken Cup final as well where he didn't perform that well," he said.
"To nail that kick in the end [against Munster] shows how far he's come and his resilience and he'll learn a lot from that. He looks really sharp in what he's doing and as Trevor said, he's moving the ball and got great hands and looks composed. He's doing that well and I'm sure Joe Schmidt will be impressed.
"Keatley and Madigan haven't been consistently high. Madigan hasn't played at 10 a lot and Keatley's been up and down. They both have undoubted talent but I think Jackson is the one at the moment who's possibly climbed ahead of those guys and he's shown a lot of composure and been very good for Ulster recently."
Meanwhile, Quinlan also gave his take on Munster's development under Anthony Foley and highlighted plenty of positives, while Trevor noted some "unacceptable" moments as he reviewed Leinster's performance against Treviso on Friday night.
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