Winger Jacob Stockdale is now targeting a win over New Zealand as he wants Ireland to become 'the best team in the world'
Sunday 18 March 2018 19:27, UK
Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland have been forced to cancel their homecoming party in Dublin due to bad weather.
Thousands of jubilant fans were expected to welcome Joe Schmidt's side at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon but the IRFU has announced the event has been cancelled due to heavy snow.
In a statement, the IRFU said: "We regret to advise that the Grand Slam Homecoming celebrations have been cancelled due to adverse weather.
"Irish Rugby would like to thank their supporters for their continued support throughout this campaign."
The event was due to kick off at 4.30pm when the Ireland squad were to take to the stage to be introduced to the crowd after sealing their third Grand Slam with a 24-15 win over England at Twickenham on St Patrick's Day.
One of the try scorers in that victory, Jacob Stockdale, insists Ireland want to harness their triumph to become the best team in the world.
The winger set a new Six Nations-era record seven tries in a single tournament with the 21-year-old now boasting 11 tries in just nine Tests, and he has admitted they cannot wait to host the world's number one side the All Blacks, in Dublin this November.
"We've won a Grand Slam, and that's the first stepping stone to being a dominant team in world rugby," said Stockdale, with Ireland leapfrogging England to second in the world rankings during the Six Nations.
"We're sitting number two in the world, and we're excited to have a crack at New Zealand. We're in a really good place right now but there's still a lot to work on.
"We can look forward to next year's Six Nations and then the World Cup.
"Look, Joe (Schmidt) hasn't said 'New Zealand is the target' but your ambition is to be the best team in the world and to do that you have to beat the best team in the world. At the minute that's New Zealand.
"We're going to keep training and working as hard as we can."
