Jack Dempsey ready for second crack at Rugby World Cup and the threat of souped-up Tonga

All being well, Jack Dempsey will be lining up in dark blue - or possibly mauve - for Scotland when they open their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign against South Africa in Marseille in 78 days’ time.

It’s not his first rodeo. Four years ago the back-row forward was wearing the gold and green of Australia in Japan. Regardless of what you think of the eligibility criteria that allow a player to switch sides, Dempsey is determined to make the most of his second chance. The 2019 tournament ended badly for the Wallabies who were turfed out in the quarter-finals, beaten 40-16 by England in Oita. Scotland, of course, were already home by this point, eliminated in the pool phase after losses to Ireland and Japan.

Dempsey, currently ensconced in the south of France at a pre-World Cup training camp, has been swapping 2019 misery memoirs with his Scotland team-mates and the Glasgow Warriors No 8 is determined there will be no regrets this time. He said the squad have already fostered an underdog spirit which is probably just as well given the scale of the task facing Scotland who, as if we need reminding, have been drawn in Pool B alongside holders South Africa, world No 1-ranked side Ireland, a souped up Tonga and makeweights Romania. Nobody is giving Gregor Townsend’s boys much of a chance which is music to the ears of the pleasingly unvarnished Dempsey who talks about “proving all the haters wrong”.

“It was disappointing in that campaign in ’19 with Australia, we got beaten up by England in the quarter-final and then sent home quick, which is just a disappointing result,” he said. “It’s something you build for ever since you’re 12-13 years old, and you look at a World Cup, every four years that you sit down and watch with your family or wherever. It’s the pinnacle of the sport. And so you build yourself into that as a professional, with that as the aim, and to get that far and fall so short and be disappointed. To get a second crack at that - and obviously for me personally it’s in a different environment completely - but it’s something that I want to rectify. That is what drives you, not only to make it but to be successful so you can look back when you’re 40, 50, 60 years old and just kind of have fond memories.”

Jack Dempsey is congratulated after scoring a try for Australia against Georgia during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. It turned out to be his final match for the Wallabies. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

One of Dempsey’s enduring memories of the 2019 World Cup was Hamish Watson hobbling off in Scotland’s opening defeat by Ireland. The knee injury ended the flanker’s tournament and reinforced Dempsey’s determination to give it his all this time around in what could be the 29-year-old’s last crack at a World Cup.

“I remember watching when Hamish went down. I think it was an ACL. We were all watching it in our hotel in Japan. And I think that was a big loss for them and obviously, they had disappointing results against Ireland, Japan. But yeah, we’ve heard some stories. Four years on there’s always that Scottish sense of humour where they look back and laugh and you know, that dark sense of humour that we all know the Scottish people have, but it does drive a lot of the individuals who are still in camp now that were around back then because a lot of people joke that those results are why we’ve got such a hard pool now but again, it all comes back to the mindset that we have here under Gregor where we like being the underdog. You know, we like to prove all the haters wrong and have our backs against the wall. And that’s the position that we’ve got ourselves in and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s a bit of a cliche but it’s about having no regrets. Being my first one [in 2019] you can take for granted how big the occasion is and how quickly it’s gone if you don’t perform. It’s a long time to wait in between if you don’t take your opportunities.”

Dempsey’s switch to Scotland was permitted under World Rugby’s new eligibility rules which allow players to change allegiance after a three-year stand-down period from international rugby, provided they have a credible link to their new nation. Sydney-born Dempsey qualifies through his Scottish maternal grandfather who emigrated to Australia and the No 8 now has nine caps for Scotland to add to his 14 for the Wallabies. Scotland aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the new rule. South Africa snapped up Ireland forward Jean Kleyn on Friday and Tonga and Samoa have been beefing up their squads by repatriating whole bunches of players who had previously been lost to Australia and New Zealand. It’s ostensibly why the rule was introduced and creates a scenario where there is every chance that Dempsey will line up against his ex-Wallaby team-mates Israel Folau and Adam Coleman when Scotland play Tonga in Nice in their second Pool B match on September 24. The Pacific Islanders also have a number of ex-All Blacks in their ranks and Scotland won’t be underestimating them.

Jack Dempsey on the attack against Ireland during the Six Nations. The sides will meet again at the World Cup in France. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

“As a player, that’s not the mindset ever,” said Dempsey. “You always play what’s in front of you. It’s not only Tonga but Samoa too, and knowing first hand about the new rules that are in place, some of the guys, ex-All Blacks who have joined those two teams, is really exciting to see. It strengthens all the nations around the world really and it’ll mean even more eyes on all the games. With [Scotland centre Sione] Tuipulotu having Tongan heritage he knows a lot of these guys and even he admitted that on paper their potential 1 to 15 is outstanding, guys like Israel Folau who I played with. It’s a pretty daunting task but it’s the pool we got and we look forward to the challenge.”