Physicality has not been a problem for Dempsey in the dark blue jersey. He is famously single-minded in his approach to the game.
“I’m not the first one on the team sheet for my defence. I’m there to get the ball in my hands,” he told the BBC’s Scotland Rugby Podcast in 2023.
He combines power and clever footwork to ensure he is not easily put down, and contact is normally taken on his terms.
Dempsey’s powerful carries have generated precious front-foot ball and been a focal point for a Scottish attack that has shredded both England and France in this Six Nations. He was a standout performer in both games.
A sliding doors moment in Scotland’s campaign was Dempsey recovering from what looked like a tournament-ending bicep injury suffered against England.
He missed the victory over Wales in Cardiff, but unexpectedly returned to take his place in the starting team to face France, played the full 80, and was immense.
“Everybody likes lining up with a tough bloke,” says Scotland defence coach Lee Radford.
“To be able to bounce through the pain barrier like he has, how physically he plays the game, both with the ball and without it, there’s a lot of the little stuff.
“There was the clip of him snapping his bicep. He finds his way out to an edge defensively, but stays on the field and then makes a right shoulder shot that should have been a left because he’d snapped his bicep.
“So to stay on the field and come up with those plays says a lot about the character of the bloke.
“You think back, he was done three weeks ago. To put his hand up for selection and then not only to put his hand up for selection, but obviously to put up that performance as well, that was inspirational.”
