JACK Dempsey’s first taste of the Rugby World Cup was a bitter one, when in 2019 he was a member of the Australia squad that lost in the quarter-final to England. Four years on, and now a member of Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad, the Glasgow forward is desperate for sweet success at this autumn’s tournament in France.

Everything has gone pretty well so far for the 29-year-old since. Following a three-year absence from the Test arena, he made his debut for his adoptive country, for which he qualifies thanks to a Scottish grandparent. True, his first cap, off the bench against the Wallabies at the end of 2022, ended in defeat. But more recently he has been in the starting line-up, and after being in the initial 15 for the first time in the loss to Ireland, he was in the team that rounded off this year’s Six Nations on a high with a home win over Italy.

Currently a part of Townsend’s World Cup training squad in France, the Sydney-born back-rower feels that his promotion to the starting 15 in those two closing rounds of the Championship was a significant boost to his morale, and he is now eager to repay the faith that the coaches have shown in him. “It was massive,” he said earlier this week. “In terms of the Six Nations, it was about building on my debut campaign, which was the autumn, and then making sure I got even better going through the Six Nations.

“And I really thought I did that, starting off coming off the bench and adding impact and then getting the starts in those two games and trying to empty the tank.

“The one thing I experienced by going through it was how gruelling the Six Nations can be, the toll it takes on some of the lads, like Jamie Ritchie, who was captain and started every game.

“As a guy who started on the bench, you wanted to finish the campaign strongly. And as a guy who didn’t play so many minutes early on it’s about just making sure you do your role when the time comes. That’s what it’s about and that’s what the coaches have instilled in the culture here. And it’s about making sure that if I get the opportunity to keep that jersey or whatever my role is, it’s about doing it to the best of my ability, that’s what it’s all about here.”

With South Africa and Ireland both in Scotland’s World Cup group, Dempsey knows that he and his team-mates will have to perform to the best of their ability if they are to progress to the knockout stages. The focus on the games against those two teams has contrasted with a relative lack of concern about the matches against the other sides in the pool, Tonga and Romania. But Dempsey believes that none of the so-called minnows should be written off, and thinks that the second-country rule which saw him qualify for Scotland has significantly strengthened quite a few of the outsiders in the tournament.

“Knowing first-hand about the new rules that are in place, it’s really exciting to see some of the ex-All Blacks guys who have joined not only the Tonga team but the Samoa team that has been named. It strengthens all the nations around the world, really, and it’ll mean even more eyes on all the games.

“With [Warriors and Scotland team-mate 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’ve got and we look forward to the challenge.”

This time last year when he was swithering about a possible switch from the Wallabies to Scotland, Dempsey revealed that his staunchly Australian father was firmly against the idea. “I know my dad doesn’t want me to bloody play for Scotland!” he said then.

Now, however, peace has broken out within the family, and Dempsey’s father is just as supportive of his son’s new international career as his mother, whose Scottish heritage meant she always approved the change of allegiances. “He’s fully converted now,” the forward said. “I brought them over – my uncle, my dad and my mum – during the Six Nations and they got to be a part of the atmosphere at Murrayfield at the Ireland and the Italy games

“My dad was fully kitted out, head to toe. He was singing the anthem – he didn’t know the words, he was just making them up, I think – but he loved it and he’s fully on board now. And mum is the Scottish link so she’s always been on board. Yeah, he’s all in.”