World Cup 2019: Rookie Wallaby Jack Dempsey says tournament will be like other tours ‘on steroids’
After struggling with injuries in the past year, Jack Dempsey has joined a star-studded Australian backrow that is threatening to create havoc at the World Cup.
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Arriving in Japan half a day later than expected after being delayed by Typhoon Faxai, Wallaby World Cup rookie Jack Dempsey admits he still hasn’t been able to grasp just how big the tournament is.
After struggling with injuries in the past year, the 25-year-old was unsure whether he would even make the 31-man squad so it was only after his name got called out that he started asking his older teammates about what to expect from one of the biggest sports events in the world.
“The vibes we got off the guys who were at London in 2015 is it like any other Spring Tour but on steroids,” Dempsey said.
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“The city is buzzing constantly for the whole six, seven, eight weeks. Pretty excited to see what it is going to be about, especially Japan because it has such big rugby fans.
“I haven’t got too much of an idea really. Obviously the guys like Swoop (Adam Ashley-Cooper), he is going to his fourth. He has spoken to the group as a whole, and the new guys who haven’t been to one, about what it is like.”
How much game time Dempsey gets on the field remains unknown. As a loose forward, he’s fighting for the most competitive positions in the side, against Michael Hooper, David Pocock, Isi Naisarani and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto so even making the bench will be hard, at least for the opening two pool matches against Fiji and Wales.
He didn’t do himself any harm with an impressive showing against Samoa on Saturday and said the competition to win coach Michael Cheika’s approval for a spot in the side was bringing out the best in everyone.
“We all know what the others can bring and it kind of bonds us a bit. It is up to Cheik to reach into the toolbox and depending on the game and pick who he wants to pick. It is very exciting,” he said.
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Like everyone, Dempsey was blown away by Pocock’s comeback against the physical Samoans after a long injury lay-off.
Awarded the captaincy for his last Test on home soil, Pocock got stuck in straight away and did a mountain of work before departing on the hour, leaving Dempsey and Salakaia-Loto to run the forwards.
“The awesome thing about Poey is he always leads by example,” Dempsey said.
“He’s always stood up at World Cups and been that star for Australia. It’s good to have him in the same backrow as me.”