Glasgow’s ability to go “to hell and back” Jack Dempsey on their way to lifting the United Rugby Championship title should give the Warriors’ Scotland contingent confidence they can repeat the feat on the international stage.
That is the view of back-row Jack Dempsey, one of Glasgow’s outstanding performers in the final against the Bulls in Pretoria.
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For the Australian-born former Wallabies back-row, who switched his international allegiance to represent Scotland in 2022, the win in South Africa brought to end a decade-long wait for a trophy.
He explained: “Every player on that field is motivated as a collective, but they also have their own internal motivations.
“For me, I haven't won anything as a professional, so that's a 10-year career of just wanting to win something. That was my extra motivation.
“I have always been a big game player, so you put pressure on yourself to be 'that guy' that has to step up and do it. The number of times you can play well in a losing side and it doesn't mean anything. To get that feeling and contribute just feels good."
Glasgow had occupied the upper echelons of the URC table for much of the season, and appeared set for a home run through the play-offs until a dip in form saw Franco Smith’s side denied that, seemingly easier, route through the knockout rounds.
They did overcome Stormers at Scotstoun in the quarter-finals before knocking out defending champions Munster in the last four, then turning round a 13-point deficit to beat the Bulls at altitude in front of 50,000 home fans to win the title.
Dempsey said Glasgow can take huge confidence from not only the title win, but their route to becoming champions.
The 30-year-old said: “The Stormers game was the monkey off our back because you think about Munster and Toulon last year, and for the Scotland boys, you think about the French game where one or two things go wrong and we find a way to lose.
"At one point in that [Stormers] game every player from 1-23 had a moment where they had to step up and deliver whereas in the past I haven't seen that before.
“Reviewing that game and going to Munster, it was 'let's just rock up physically and see what happens'.
“All of a sudden we dished them up physically then we felt we could do anything.”
And while it ultimately ended in defeat, Dempsey said a late comeback in a regular-season URC match over the Bulls in Pretoria gave the Warriors confidence their hosts would wilt late on.
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“We knew because we went to Bulls so recently how tough it is at altitude and it is daunting, but just the confidence we took out of the Munster game was huge."
Dempsey was delighted with the way the Glasgow squad, even in the heat of the battle in Pretoria, stuck to their gameplan.
The former Waratahs man said it was important to find the right emotional balance before such a huge match.
“I feel like I've been doing it long enough that I've learned if you get too revved up before a game, you get too red-headed, you can get it wrong, but if you're too calm and too blue-headed you can get it wrong again.
“Whether you are playing Zebre or Munster in the semi, everything has got to be the same.
“When you get an opportunity to make a difference in a game, it is about taking those. It is not about going out of system and trying to be a hero.
“I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I get the ball a lot, so I might get more opportunities.
“I'm proud of the guys coming off the bench. I look at Henco [Venter], and taking those opportunities - not trying to do anything crazy. That has been the difference. That is now why we are champions."
Dempsey, who is being rested for Scotland’s summer tour, admitted to some disappointment that the national team’s front-line players won’t be together until the autumn.
Dempsey also admitted to a sense of relief that Blair Kinghorn – who contests the Top 14 final with Toulouse this weekend – won't have one-up on his Scotland colleagues the next time they are in camp.
He said: “Blair was the first one [to win a trophy] when he won Europe.
"Me and Sione Tuipulotu room together and we were joking that when we go into camp for the Autumn Nations Series, we can't let Blair be the only one who's won something.
“Then Cole Forbes won with The Blues - he was who was one of my best mates when he was here.
“Then it's like, not desperation, but 'I can't let my mates do it' then Finn lost and we won, so now we'll tease Finn a bit, we'll rip into the Edinburgh boys.
“Winning is a habit and so is losing. If we can use this to create a winning culture and winning habits it's going to come easier.”
But Dempsey hopes the Warriors’ success, plus Kinghorn’s Champions Cup win with Toulouse, can give the squad confidence.
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He added: "We've got tangible evidence that we can go to hell and come back because that's what we did.
“In terms of taking that to the next level, it's not easy. Test rugby is a different sport.
“If we are being honest, it's about the Scottish boys taking what they've learned and not trying to shove it down the Edinburgh boys' throats, or Finn, or anyone else in the Premiership, and saying 'we did this' but it's about your actions on the field.”
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