LONG READ Jack Dempsey: ‘Facing New Zealand is the same for me as the Scottish guys against England. You just go to another level.’

Twelve months ago, Jack Dempsey had only played a game-and-a-half of rugby after seven months out with a hamstring injury before taking on the All Blacks.

He subsequently had one of his finest outings in a Scotland jersey, taking the fight to the New Zealanders with a hard carry from the opening kick-off and following up with 17 more in a barnstorming 65-minute outing at Murrayfield.

It wasn’t enough to deliver a first ever Scotland win in the fixture, but did provide compelling evidence of the extra motivation this fair-dinkum Sydneysider can summon – even slightly short of a gallop – when a haka is added to the pre-match rituals.

Not for the first time, either. There was a similar demonstration of controlled fury when Dempsey was taking his first steps in the international arena, for his native Australia. On his sixth cap, and third start, in October 2017, the abrasive back-rower delivered a power-packed, player-of-the-match display from blindside to help the Wallabies end a seven-Test losing run against their great trans-Tasman rivals in a 23-18 victory in Brisbane.

It is a cherished memory from a former life, making him the only member of Gregor Townsend’s squad with a victory over the All Blacks on his CV.

Like Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu, who has spoken previously of leaving Australia “a little bit angry” and with “a sense of unfinished business” after failing to earn greater recognition at home, you suspect Dempsey still carries a similar chip on his shoulder about the way his Wallabies career fizzled out on 14 caps after the 2019 World Cup.

After growing up in a golden period for Australian rugby during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the last two decades, encompassing his own senior career for a dozen years, have been a story of overwhelming Kiwi superiority in matches between the two nations, the All Blacks having won 51 – including the last 13 – of their 61 clashes since 2004. Dempsey happily admits that will provide additional fuel for his own performance on Saturday.

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.

“Oh, for sure, yeah,” he replies when asked about the extra motivation this fixture provides. ‘Nons’ [Tuipulotu] comes to the top of the mind in terms of chats we’ve had along the way, growing up as Australians, then Australian schoolboys, Australian Under-20s and obviously I played for the Wallabies as well. You’re always compared to New Zealand.

“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. You just go to another level instinctively.

“But on top of that, if we look at last year’s game, the atmosphere that was there and the history of Scotland and New Zealand we all know, in terms of the streak.”

That winless streak, after last year’s 25-17 defeat in which Dempsey played a key role in helping the Scots roar back from a 17-0 deficit to level at 17-17 before fading, now extends to 33 matches – there have been two draws – in 121 years since their first meeting in 1905.

Having not been invited to play in New Zealand since their last tour there in 2000, in recent times Scotland have had to wait several years between meetings. The first six at Murrayfield this century brought an aggregate score of 47-238, or an average win of 40-8 to the All Blacks. The last four fixtures since 2014, though, have all been decided by eight points or less. With the fledgling Nations Championship bringing Scotland another shot only 12 months on, the Tartan tribes will throng to the national stadium again on Saturday hoping to witness an elusive slice of rugby history.

“Being part of the first of anything would be great,” Dempsey acknowledged. “But I think our objective is the same objective that we’ve had probably since 12 months ago. We all remember we came out slowly against the All Blacks, we clawed our way back, then D-Mac [Damian McKenzie] scored in the corner late.

“Then we had the fall apart the next week against Argentina [ from 21-0 up, Scotland succumbed shipped five tries in the last 25 minutes to lose 33-24]. I’m sure Gregor [Townsend] has said this numerous times since, but that moment, that campaign, was a huge catalyst for us in terms of an eye-opening, humbling experience, to be where we are now. We’ve been on a journey of building since then. So yes, it would be great to do all that [beat the All Blacks], but I think there’s deeper meaning in terms of what we’re building here as a team.”

Dempsey’s own role in that journey towards the 2027 World Cup appeared to be placed in some jeopardy when he rejected a new two-year contract at Glasgow, after five years of sterling service in which he helped Warriors to the URC title in 2024, in favour of a four-year deal with Japanese outfit Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.

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.

At 31, the greater financial rewards and security were not to be sniffed at, but it was not a straightforward decision given the invigorating jolt to his own career playing for Scotland has provided.

“It was way back in February, just before the Six Nations, when I started speaking to Toshiba and debating what I was going to do,” Dempsey reflected.

“You’re weighing everything up and I think as the can got kicked down the road and everything happened as it happened, the biggest thing that remains with me is just around not wanting to leave this environment, if it’s possible. This is a special group here, which we’ve said for a while. Let’s put away results, all that, just from strictly a coming-into-work point of view, it’s a special group to be a part of.

“Murrayfield is the best place to play rugby, at the top level. As an Australian originally who came over here, you’re not expecting any of it, so [my goal is] just to get 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 [Glasgow head coach] Franco Smith or even Danny Wilson [Smith’s predecessor, who brought Dempsey to Scotstoun] back then.

“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.”

The timing of Japan’s League One season, from December to May, means Dempsey won’t be available for next year’s Six Nations, but Toshiba – with Springboks full-back Aphelele Fassi and half-a-dozen Japanese internationals in their ranks (the Brave Blossoms are Scotland’s third November opponents) – were happy to facilitate his release for this Nations Championship block before their own season begins.

After the conclusion of Test business at the end of this month, the next time Scotland will be able to call on Dempsey will be for a pre-World Cup training camp and three warm-up Tests against France (home and away) plus New Zealand in Dunedin – their first in the country since 2000 – a couple of weeks before the big kick-off in Australia.

Dempsey is not counting his chooks on that score – other contenders for the No.8 jersey may stake irrefutable claims in his absence during the Six Nations – but it’s clear next year’s global gathering on ‘home’ turf is a major driver for him over the next 11 months.  It may also prove his international swansong, judging by where his head is at currently.

“Yeah, it’s big,” he concurred. “If you just look at my career, I’ve obviously had two World Cups, one for Scotland, one for Australia. And you’re talking about a third and obviously final one, on Australian soil, with this crew. It would be a great way to go out in terms of international experience. But at the same token, you’ve got to earn every single week. I’ve learned through my own career that it can all be taken away very quickly, either through injury or selection or whatever.

“You can’t really look too far ahead, which is again all stuff that went into the move to Japan, so we’ll see what happens. You ask any of the boys in here; if they can get on that plane to Australia, it’ll be pretty special.”

Considering what Scotland have given me in the second half of my career, it’s just making sure every cap, whether it’s the All Blacks, World Cup, anything after or in between, just kind of play it like it’s your last, really.

Pressed on whether the 2027 World Cup would bring a definitive end to his Test career with Scotland – he has won 35 caps since his debut as a replacement against Australia, of all countries, in November 2022 – Dempsey is more circumspect.

“I’m not sure, it’s always hard to put the word ‘definitive’ next to it. But I’m not under any illusions as to what my age is now, I’m not playing in Scotland anymore and having that kind of security of the Glasgow boys next to me every week, as well as the international windows, the timing of the seasons and Six Nations and all that kind of stuff.

“I’m not sure, but as a betting man, there’s probably less games coming than there has been. But I’m the last person who’s going to be ungrateful for what I’ve been given, especially by Scotland.

“If I play against the All Blacks, it’ll be my 50th Test cap. You’d normally have a little ceremony and get given a little gift, but because it’s not for one nation, for me and my family it’s just for us, which is pretty unique and pretty special.

“Scotland in particular, considering what they’ve given me in the second half of my career, it’s just making sure every cap, whether it’s the All Blacks, World Cup, anything after or in between, just kind of play it like it’s your last, really.”

Dempsey has followed Glasgow’s early-season progress from Japan and was back at Scotstoun on Friday, along with many of his rested Scotland team-mates, watching their 29-20 win over the Lions, a result which sent them top of the URC.

While his old Warriors mates are several months into their season, Dempsey has only played a solitary warm-up game – against serial champions Panasonic Saitama Wild Knights – for Brave Lupus before coming into camp with Scotland.

His last competitive outing was almost four months ago, for Scotland against South Africa in Pretoria, but having arrived in Tokyo early in Toshiba’s pre-season “to make sure they knew I was there to work hard and be a part of the team”, he has enjoyed spending time getting himself in peak physical condition for the rigours of what lies ahead.

“The good thing is it’s definitely given me a lot more time because I’m not running around family and friends in Scotland, so I can lock in when I’m in the gym and really work my body,” he said.

“You hear a lot about the Springboks who have been over there for a while now, they get into really good nick and then come back for the Boks, so it’s something I’ve enjoyed. And rugby-wise I don’t think there’s ever anything wrong with having different experiences as a player in terms of what you can go and experience and bring back to a team like this. I think that’s what’s made Scotland grow as a team over the last few years, when you get boys from all over the world like Sione, for example, being at Melbourne, going to Japan and then coming to Glasgow.

Jeez bro, when he is fresh, he is a different animal…You don’t need to call anything, you just give him the ball and let him go.

“It’s obviously a different style [in Japan], probably back more to the Super Rugby I used to play. Also helping me is it’s a much faster game, maybe less physical against smaller bodies. But I think that’ll be good for my game, getting that speed back into it.

“The harder things are obviously the language barrier at the moment, trying to figure everything out. It’s different to having Finn [Russell] and Sione behind you, bossing you around very clearly. I’m trying to find those new voices again and find where you fit in the team and where I can add my value. It’s still definitely a learning curve in terms of that.”

If rugby life in Japan is new and unfamiliar after five years in Glasgow’s West End, the experience of a year ago means you wouldn’t bet against Dempsey firing out of the blocks against the All Blacks on Saturday.

After tearing his hamstring in Scotland’s penultimate game of the 2025 Six Nations against Wales, he endured six months of torturously painful rehab before a 45-minute comeback for Glasgow in a pre-season game against Northampton. Named to start against Sharks in the first round of the URC, he hurt his groin in the warm-up and missed another month.

There was a lot resting on his belated season bow on 24 October 2025, but a barnstorming player-of-the-match display in a bruising victory over the Bulls swiftly dispelled any doubts he was ready for Test rugby the following week.

“Jeez bro, when he is fresh, he is a different animal,” enthused his club and country team-mate Tuipulotu at the time. “I have known him a long time and I was expecting that type of performance. He is such a valuable asset for us, he just kept us going forward. You don’t need to call anything, you just give him the ball and let him go.”

After a 40-minute run-out in Scotland’s one-sided loosener against the USA, he produced one of the games of his life against New Zealand. Twelve months on, he sounds in the mood do similar damage. Maybe this time with a different result.

“I only had one [club] game under my belt and obviously I had nice form after that,” he recalled. “I think as you get older, the whole match fitness thing isn’t as big 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 not too long ago we were on the summer tour, so I’m feeling in a good place in terms of being ready to rumble.”