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PADDY JACKSON
A week later, he was to the fore once again,
chipping in with a try, a penalty and two
conversions en route to a gritty 17-22 win away
to Glasgow, Ulster’s first at Scotstoun since the
PRO12 was formed.
Thanks to that victory, Ulster currently proudly
sit joint-top of the Championship table along
with Cardiff as the only unbeaten teams after
four games, and Jackson is pleased to be in that
position:
“For myself it was good
to come in after the team
had already put together
two wins. The lads did
really well against the
Dragons and Treviso so it
made my job a bit easier
coming into a winning
environment.
“At out-half it’s great to
have the likes of Jared
(Payne) and Charles
(Piutau) outside me who
want the ball so I just try
and get it to them and
let them do their thing.
We’re still missing the likes of Trimby (Andrew
Trimble) and Gilly (Craig Gilroy), Tommy (Bowe)
as well, so there’s a lot of competition and that
makes my life a bit easier having guys like that
around you.”
While much of the talk has centred around the
Ulster backline, Director of Rugby Les Kiss was
keen to praise the work of his forwards after the
Glasgow in, and it is a point on which Jackson
concurs:
“Absolutely. You see the likes of Rodney (Ah You)
and Hendy (Iain Henderson) throwing boys about
which is fun to see from the backline and it gets
the boys going. I think especially against Glasgow
the pack really fronted up defensively and showed
a lot of grit. From an out-half’s point of view it’s
great to have that kind of ball and guys backing
you up from the pack, so it’s a pleasure to play
behind them.”
When asked about his own form, Jackson is
predictably modest, but also speaks with an
assuring confidence:
“Yeah I’ve been happy
enough. As an out-half
you’re never completely
happy and there’s still
a few things that I need
to get right. I’m feeling
pretty confident out
there and I think that
comes from the guys
around me making my
job easier. Then I just
have to focus on getting
the ball to them and if I
get an opportunity for
a gap I can take that
on myself. So yeah, I’m
feeling confident and hopefully I can keep this
momentum going.”
While he is still just 24 years old, Jackson has four
full seasons under his belt and over 100 Ulster
caps to his name, and since the appointment of
Les Kiss back in November 2015, the out-half
has taken on an enhanced position of leadership
within the Ulster camp.
“Naturally, as I have gotten a bit older, the
leadership thing has started to come in. I’ve been
here a while so I know how things work and I
know how to get the best out of guys around me.
I would say there’s a bit of both; between Les
PADDY JACKSON
Following an extended summer break due to his commendable efforts on the
Ireland tour of South Africa, Paddy Jackson returned to the Ulster team for the
Guinness PRO12 Round 3 clash against Scarlets, by which stage Ulster had
already recorded opening round wins against Dragons and Treviso. Jackson
put in a man of the match performance, landing three penalties and controlling
the play majestically to guide Ulster to a 19-8 win at Kingspan Stadium.