Glasgow Warriors new Australian international No 8 Jack Dempsey says he can see similarities between Rory Darge and Michael Hooper after a stunning display from the young openside at Kingspan Stadium on Friday.
Warriors fell to a narrow defeat against Ulster but they left Belfast with two bonus points after tries from George Horne, Jonny Matthews and Jamie Dobie, along with a penalty try.
But it was the exploits of the 21-year-old Darge that really caught the eye in the United Rugby Championship opener and Dempsey sees a big future ahead.
“He was outstanding,” said the 14-time capped Wallaby.
“His fitness is world class, I noticed that in the pre-season, the scores he gets, the metres he runs in training.
“For a guy like me, until tonight I’ve played pretty much every game next to Michael Hooper and that’s the first thing that stands out, in terms of when you have got a seven like that who can absolutely run all day.”
Glasgow had a brilliant pre-season following their four-game winning run at the end of the last campaign.
They led 15-14 at half-time. The hosts struck early with a fourth-minute penalty try and added another through Brad Roberts but Horne and Matthews also touched down.
It was even more frenetic in the second half and despite tries from Marty Moore, Nick Timoney and Nathan Doak, Ulster were made to work hard for their first victory.
“I have been lucky enough to play in front of a crowd this season back home but it was unreal, the atmosphere was great, we fed off it,” said Dempsey.
“We lost but there was a lot of positives to take out of it. Especially for the first game of the season.
“Myself and a few others playing their first game, a few other signings as well, so really happy with everything.”
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