Ulster are edging towards winning their tug-of-war with leading French sides Racing 92 and Lyon to keep Ireland winger Jacob Stockdale in Belfast when his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Stockdale, 28, whose career has stalled by a series of injury problems, had been speaking to Racing 92 and Lyon about a move to France but has been delaying making a final decision about his future.
He recently held lengthy talks with Racing, who are coached by former England boss Stuart Lancaster, but the indications are that he is likely to stay with Ulster unless there is a dramatic twist in events.
Stockdale, who has played 127 times for Ulster and scored three tries in five games this season, returned to the Ireland set-up last month, winning his 38th cap in the win over Fiji.
The 6’3, 104kg winger rolled back the years to 2018 when he was named Player of the Championship in the Six Nations and scored a memorable try against the All Blacks before a string of injuries badly hit his career.
Ulster are keen to retain Stockdale, whose family are settled in Northern Ireland, and it would be a boost for Richie Murphy, who is set to lose scrum-half John Cooney to Pro D2 outfit Brive next season.
He recently admitted that he wanted to see the pair stay with his United Rugby Championship side next season: “At this time of year, with players off contract, there’s always going to be conversations about those things.
“We don’t want to see them go. It’s like anything, if people decide to move on, well the group here will move on without them.
“We’re trying to build something here going forward over the next number of years. Hopefully, the guys might want to be a part of that,” he said.
