‘Ready to rumble’: Jack Dempsey eyes half-and-half jersey for landmark Test
Forward is fit for New Zealand despite limited game time in Japan
Jack Dempsey may have left Glasgow Warriors for Japan but he remains fully committed to Scotland and is grateful to his new club for releasing him for the forthcoming Nations Championship games.
The No 8 has broken off from pre-season training with Toshiba Brave Lupus to join up with Gregor Townsend’s squad and believes he is in good shape for this Saturday’s match with New Zealand at Murrayfield, should he be selected.
The Japan Rugby League One season does not begin until December 12 but Dempsey has played one match for the Brave Lupus, a warm-up game against Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, and feels ready for Test rugby, comparing the situation to last autumn.
“It's one of those things, as you get older,” he said. “I remember this time last year, I was coming off a seven-month hamstring [injury], and then I think we played Northampton in a trial [pre-season match] at Scotstoun, which was my first game back. I played like 30 minutes or something and then we had the Sharks in round one [of the URC] and I did my groin in the warm-up and missed another four weeks. I only played the Bulls the week before the USA game and then the All Blacks.
‘Similar to Scottish guys when they come up against England’
“So I only had one [club] game under my belt [before Scotland’s autumn Test programme] and obviously I had nice form after that, so I think as you get older, the whole match fitness thing isn't as big of a deal, especially if you're having a big pre-season.
“The Japanese boys do a lot of live contact, more so than you might do here in a shorter pre-season. And just not too long ago we were on the summer tour [with Scotland], so I'm feeling in a good place in terms of being ready to rumble.”
Last year’s defeat by the All Blacks in Edinburgh still stings for Dempsey. The home side had played some brilliant rugby to claw their way back into the match, scoring 17 unanswered points to tie things up going into the final quarter. But a brilliant 50:22 kick from New Zealand’s replacement fly-half Damian McKenzie turned the match back dramatically in favour of the visitors and it was McKenzie who scored a try and penalty in the final six minutes to seal a 25-17 win for the All Blacks.
As an Aussie, it hurt Dempsey all the more and he won’t lack motivation this weekend.
“Oh, for sure, yeah,” he said. “If I look at my career, if I say my top three Test games of all time, I think two of them are probably against New Zealand, one for the Wallabies and one for Scotland. So it's something that I guess is similar to Scottish guys when they come up against England; I think that's exactly the same feeling.
Hopefully play the All Blacks every year
“You just go to another level instinctively. But I think on top of that, if we look at last year's game, the atmosphere that was there, the history of Scotland and New Zealand, we all know in terms of the streak.
“But it's also the lack of opportunity Scotland have got [to play] against them, and now we've got two opportunities in two years. So hopefully that continues with the new Nations Championship and we're playing the All Blacks every year, hopefully.”
The streak Dempsey refers to is the 33 Test matches Scotland have played against New Zealand without winning. If last year felt like a missed opportunity, he still believes this squad of players are capable of overcoming the All Blacks. He calls it “a special group” and it’s the reason why he was determined to continue with his international career despite moving to Japan.
‘A special group’
“I think the biggest thing that remains with me is just around not wanting to leave this environment, if it's possible,” he said. “This is a special group here, which we've said for a while. Let's put away results, put away all that, just from strictly a come-into-work point of view, it's a special group to be a part of.
“You guys have been to how many games at Murrayfield? It's the best place to play rugby, at obviously the top level. So if you can, as an Australian originally who came over here, you’re not expecting any of it, just to get as many more experiences and give back to the team as much as you can. Because if we're talking about the Japanese kind of opportunity, that doesn't really exist without Gregor Townsend or Franco Smith or even Danny Wilson [his first coach at Glasgow] back then.
“So it's something that we could wake up tomorrow and my services are no longer needed. But until Scotland stop picking up the phone, then I'm going to keep picking up the phone, if that makes sense.”
Saturday is set to be a special day for Sydney-born Dempsey. If he plays, it will be his 50th international appearance. His is a very modern-day rugby story: 14 of his caps have come for Australia and 35 for Scotland. A change to World Rugby’s eligibility rules allowed him to transfer allegiance in 2022 after a three-year break from the international game and he qualifies via his maternal grandfather from Scotland.
He played at the Rugby World Cup in 2019 for Australia and in 2023 for Scotland. While he is available for these November internationals he won’t be around for the Six Nations as it clashes with the Japanese league season so it’s about making the most of the here and now. He would dearly love to be picked for next year’s World Cup which would see him represent Scotland in Australia and he is not looking beyond that.
“I'm not under any illusion as to what my age is now, not playing in Scotland anymore, and [not] having that kind of security of the Glasgow boys.
Play every game like it’s your last
“If I play against the All Blacks, it'll be my 50th Test cap, which you'd normally have a little ceremony and get given a little gift, but because it's not for one nation, me and my family, it's just for us, which is pretty unique and pretty special.
“I think Scotland in particular, what they've given me in my second half of my career, it's just making sure every cap, whether it's All Blacks, World Cup, anything after or in between, just kind of play it like it's your last, really.”
Beating the All Blacks would be a nice way to mark the occasion but Dempsey is taking nothing for granted.
“The first thing I have to do is get picked,” he said. “Otherwise, wait for the Australian game or the Japanese game.
“But yeah, I don't think we've got anything planned. I think when my missus always tries to bring stuff up to celebrate, I'm just like 'we'll do it after' and then I just can't be f***ed doing it after.
“We'll see. I'm thinking about getting a cap made up or maybe a jersey kind of made up, which is kind of like half-and-half. But then you'd have to do kind of like a pie chart, like I only had 14 for Australia, so maybe it's only going to be that.
“That might be a post-career thing where I get something made up because I'm not going to get to 50 for just one nation. So I'm going to have to do something.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.