Former Wallabies loose forward Jack Dempsey is set to tackle his former teammates after being named on the Scotland bench for Sunday’s (3.30am AEDT) Test in Edinburgh.
Sydney product Dempsey played 14 Tests for the Wallabies between 2017-19 and featured under Michael Cheika at the last Rugby World Cup.
But the then Waratahs star did not feature for Australia under Dave Rennie and took up an opportunity with Glasgow Warriors – Rennie’s former club – in 2021.
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“We’ve watched him closely while he’s been away and he’s certainly always been a really good athlete, great with ball in hand,” Rennie said.
“We always felt he lacked a little bit of physicality and we gave him that feedback and I know he’s worked hard on that and we’ve seen it prosper and blossom at Glasgow.
“He’s a really good player and I know he’ll be keen as to get among our boys, he knows a lot of them really well.”
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Dempsey’s grandfather was Scottish and he recently made himself available following changes in World Rugby’s international eligibility rules.
“There’s a lot of information to take on board when you’re new to a team, but he’s adapted well,” Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said.
“He’s played very well for Glasgow and we want to see his strengths when he comes on.
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“We have lots of players that come from different backgrounds and Jack is part of that inclusive, diverse group we have and we can’t wait to see how he does for us.”
Scotland beat the Wallabies 15-13 at Murrayfield last year, which snapped Australia’s five game winning streak and triggered a dramatic slide down the world rankings.
But the Scots are not at full strength given the Test falls outside the official international window and the likes of Stuart Hogg, Adam Hastings, Chris Harris and Josh Bayliss are unavailable.
Lock Scott Cummings (broken toe) is also sidelined while classy Racing 92 five-eighth Finn Russell was not picked in a highly controversial move.
Townsend was in Melbourne to watch Australia’s heartbreaking 39-37 loss to the All Blacks last month.
“Although they’ve not won as many games as they’d have liked, they’ve shown their quality enough times over the summer to be positive about their northern hemisphere tour,” Townsend said.
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“(Last year) it was a very tight game, they played well and had come off the back of beating South Africa just before they played us.
“They also beat South Africa this summer, so they’re a quality team.
“We know Dave Rennie really well and he’s always had an attacking philosophy. It will be a big test for us.”
SCOTLAND (15-1): Ollie Smith, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Blair Kinghorn, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, Zander Fagerson, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie (c), Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson
Reserves: George Turner, Jamie Bhatti, WP Nel, Glen Young, Jack Dempsey, George Horne, Ross Thompson, Damien Hoyland
WALLABIES (15-1): Tom Banks, Andrew Kellaway, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Tom Wright, Bernard Foley, Tate McDermott, Rob Valetini, Michael Hooper, Jed Holloway, Cadeyrn Neville, Nick Frost, Allan Alaalatoa, David Porecki, James Slipper (c)
Reserves: Folau Fainga’a, Matt Gibbon, Taniela Tupou, Ned Hanigan, Pete Samu, Nic White, Noah Lolesio, Jock Campbell
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