Scotland might have the recent upper hand with four victories in the nations’ last five meetings but, when it comes to fostering a winning mentality, it is nigh impossible to beat the Australians.
An Aussie who wouldn’t kick their own granny if it meant the difference between success and failure is as rare as snow falling on the Sydney Opera House. It is an integral part of their DNA.
Competing is all very well and good, but what is the point if you’re not trying to win? Good luck to anyone, from Perth to Hobart, trying to teach kids that it’s the taking part that counts.
That attitude has now infiltrated a Scotland rugby camp too accustomed to taking second prizes. Or, to be more accurate, third, fourth, fifth and sometimes even sixth.
Of course, players like Finn Russell, Rory Darge and Jamie Ritchie want to win. But it has taken the addition of a pair of Australian imports to move the dial on that from a wished-for aim to the only thing that matters.
Little wonder that Sione Tuipulotu was chosen as the Scotland captain despite never having set foot in this country until a few years ago. His commitment, passion and purpose – allied to his talent – make him a born leader. He has been a big miss during these Six Nations due to injury, both on and off the field.
Dempsey has been one of Scotland’s most consistent performers at this year’s Six Nations
The Australia-born No8 switched allegiances and it has been to Scotland’s gain
In his stead, it is fallen to another Antipodean convert to the cause to lay it all on the line – and with typical candour, too. Jack Dempsey not only hails from Australia but played Test rugby for them, too. Fourteen times all told. The Wallabies’ decision not to add to that haul has undoubtedly been to Scotland’s benefit.
A thundering, ball-carrying No 8, Dempsey has been a key figure in Gregor Townsend’s plans for the best part of three years now. And he brings as much clarity off the pitch as he does on it. Asked to size up the prospect of Scotland potentially beating France in Paris this weekend and still finishing in the bottom half of the Six Nations table, Dempsey does not try to sugarcoat it.
‘If you’re not first, nothing else matters,’ he said with a shrug. ‘That’s really my point of view. That might not be everyone else’s. If you come second or you come last, what’s the difference? I didn’t grow up with the Six Nations so I know there’s always that to-ing and fro-ing and you want to finish above England. As a Scot, you want to finish above other people. But first or nothing, that’s my opinion.’
That Scotland haven’t finished first since 1999 ought to be a source of national shame. Even second has proved beyond a succession of teams in the Six Nations era. Near misses and winning when it doesn’t matter are no balm for Dempsey either. Scotland may have beaten France in a pre-World Cup friendly and ran them close in recent Six Nations clashes, but that provides next to no consolation.
‘I don’t take confidence from couldas and wouldas, close and maybes,’ he added. ‘If we look at this time last year, we were sitting here coming back from Rome after a game that we should have won. We went up by two or three tries again and we let a team in (Italy) and we lost.
Despite having stars such as Finn Russell in the squad, it has been another disappointing campaign
‘And then we went to Dublin to take on an Irish team that were playing to win the title, just like France are doing this week – same kind of story. But we put in our best defensive performance of the campaign. So I look at stuff like that. That gives me confidence because we’re a team that backs up heartbreak or poor moments in games (with a positive response).
‘We should be sitting here celebrating a pretty fantastic win against Wales, where we did all this really nice stuff. But we let them back in (with three late tries) and robbed ourselves of that feeling. We’ve got the role now of party poopers or whatever you want to call it, where we go in and no one backs us to win (versus France).
‘So, it doesn’t give me confidence that we’ve come close or that we beat them in Murrayfield before the World Cup in a game that didn’t mean anything. But it gives me confidence that I know the boys that are in this squad will always bounce back after disappointment.’
Dempsey believes it doesn’t have to be this constant cycle of optimism followed by underachievement and then disappointment, and feel that this squad is ready and equipped to win things. But when?
‘Since moving over here, there’s definitely always been that sense (of not hitting the heights hoped for) from the media, from the fans of Scotland rugby, because there always is that hype and then there’s always the disappointment, if you want to call it that,’ he said.
‘And you can always say eventually it’ll fall in Scotland’s favour. But unfortunately sport doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to earn what you deserve. So that’s always the motivation.
‘We’re not a team that is going to just wait for our time to happen. We’ve got to go and take it. And that’s very much the vibe that we set off before this tournament, last year’s tournament and the year before. It’s about making sure you keep learning and then you take your opportunities. Unfortunately this year we didn’t.
Dempsey goes to Paris this weekend looking to bounce back and end the tournament on a high
‘There’s always been a narrative over the last two years about (not putting in) that complete performance. It’s the Jekyll and Hyde at the moment. That’s what we’re striving to find all the time.
‘It’s about lifting that floor because we know where our ceiling is. If we play higher, we can play with any team in the world. Will the time come? The time is now. The time has been for the last two or three years but you’ve got to nail it all.’
Dempsey was aware of the Six Nations growing up in Sydney but it was only when he moved across to Scotland that he truly appreciated how gruelling it is. As Ireland look set to discover to their cost this year, all it takes is one defeat to change everything.
‘It’s bloody tough to win a Six Nations. It is almost harder to win than a World Cup, in some ways, because you’ve only got one chance at it.
‘You look at South Africa – they’ve lost a game in both of the last two World Cups but they get to the quarters and then they go all the way. None of that exists in Six Nations. You’ve got to win every game, and you’ve got to get bonus points. That’s it. There’s just nothing like it anywhere.
‘I obviously grew up watching and then playing in the Rugby Championship, which was the old school Tri Nations, but you get two, three shots at the All Blacks, two shots at the Springboks and two shots at Argentina, traditionally. Here you don’t get a home and away.’
Dempsey doesn’t need to look too far for proof that the bridge to success needn’t always be a long one, having been part of Glasgow Warriors’ URC title triumph last season. If Glasgow can turn it around, why not Scotland?
‘You’ve got to stay in the fight and you’ve got to keep learning. I can say that now whereas I wouldn’t have said that when I was younger. On the back of winning the league with Glasgow, which is the first time I’ve won a top-tier competition, you learn your time will come and the opportunity will present itself. But you might only get one or two (chances) in your career and you’ve got to take it.
‘There’s always a belief. That’s what builds over months, over seasons. That’s the thing you’ve got to have. Belief in each other, belief in the system, belief in the game plan. That’s something that definitely exists here. But you’ve got to keep learning, you’ve got to keep getting better.’
