Jack Dempsey: Scotland will go in ‘all guns blazing’ against South Africa in World Cup opener

Jack Dempsey has promised that Scotland will go in “all guns blazing” against South Africa in their opening match of the Rugby World Cup and believes they have the game to light up the tournament in France next month.

Scotland's Jack Dempsey scores a second half try during the 33-6 win over Georgia at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The No 8 was hugely impressed by the Springboks’ 35-7 demolition of New Zealand at Twickenham on Friday night but thinks the Scots can cause an upset in Marseille a week on Sunday if they rid themselves of their inconsistency. Scotland have been too “Jekyll and Hyde” for Dempsey’s liking and were at it again at Murrayfield on Saturday when a pointless opening 40 minutes was followed by a five-try second half as they beat Georgia 33-6 in their final warm-up game before the World Cup. South Africa, the holders, represent a huge step up in class but Dempsey is confident Scotland have weapons that can hurt them if they play to their potential.

“I think it’s irrelevant for us in terms of the opposition,” said the back-rower. “Our biggest enemy is ourselves. It’s a bit of cliche, I know, and you could say that about any team in world rugby but if you look at the game against Georgia, we were a different team in the second half. When we’re on, we’ve got to be one of the most electrifying and exciting teams in the world but also we deliver and we’re clinical. But then the flip side is the Jekyll and Hyde story.”

Dempsey knows Scotland cannot afford such first-half stodginess against South Africa. The 2019 World Cup winners produced a fearsome forwards display to inflict upon New Zealand a record defeat, and there was also a coming-of-age performance from Canan Moodie, their young outside centre.

“I thought it was an absolute clinic,” said Dempsey. “From 1 to 15 they didn’t look like they had any weaknesses and then they brought on the God squad off the bench. They’ve got to be one of the deepest teams in world rugby. I think a lot of them are repeating from the championship team of four years ago and they’ve added a bit of spice with Moodie at 13. He looks like he’s settled in nicely there. I’m not going to lie, I think they made a statement to show everyone they should be favourites.”

Dempsey was impressive against Georgia, scoring his first try in Scotland colours, and the Glasgow forward feels he’s at his fittest since the last World Cup when he played for Australia. He lasted the full 80 minutes against Georgia and has gone from being an impact substitute at the start of the Six Nations to a likely starter in the World Cup opener in Marseille. He credits the strength and conditioning staff for getting him up to speed.

“I feel like I bring a lot of impact to the team,” he said. “But, in an 80-minute Test match, you maybe don’t have that gas left in the tank towards the end to make that same impact if you’re starting. So, for me, these past couple of months have been about building up that engine so that at the backend of the game, where I’ve made a bit of a career of getting around fatigued players, I can impact there, but also making sure I can do that while also starting. Credit to the S&C team and the coaching staff for helping me do that.”