Dynamic back-rower Jack Dempsey has re-signed with Rugby Australia and the Waratahs on a two-year deal to keep him in Australian Rugby until at least 2020.

The 24-year-old marked his return to rugby for Sydney during this year’s National Rugby Championship and went on to play his first Test since late 2018 when the Wallabies faced the All Blacks in Japan two weeks ago.

“I want to continue to represent the State that I come from and the one that has put me on this pathway ever since I started playing junior rugby. It’s about paying back the State,” said Dempsey, who is a former student at St Ignatius College in Sydney.

“The other factor is the group of boys we have here is pretty special. And having watched the past year and the corner that we turned on the field is really exciting going into 2019, I want to be part of that,” he added.

“From a personal point of view, I always felt that I’ve brought something different to the backrow, whether playing for my Shute Shield Club Gordon, in the NRC for Sydney, the NSW Waratahs or Australia. And throughout my rehabilitation, I wanted to make sure that I was still that player.”

Waratahs Coach Daryl Gibson said: “We are thrilled to see him back playing and he will improve with every game as he is working his way back to full fitness. We look forward to seeing Jack make an impact for the team next season.”

Dempsey burst onto the international arena in 2017 following a man-of-the-match display in just his sixth Test match before injury cut short his 2018 season.

Dempsey said: “I went a long time without any good news so now to have some back-to-back good news after playing the last game and now to re-sign, is just awesome.

“Firstly to stay in New South Wales and then to have the opportunity to represent Australia for potentially the next two years is just a cherry on top.

“The support I’ve had from the Waratahs and the Wallabies over the past year has been world class so I have to thank them so much for helping me get back to this level.”