Resisting the temptation to get carried away by a good performance has helped rising Wallaby flanker Jack Dempsey's successful transition to being a Test starter, after a tough introduction.
It has been an eventful season for the robust 23-year-old NSW Waratahs backrower, who missed eight Super Rugby matches with a foot injury.
After starting his Test career with three cameos off the bench in home Tests against Italy, South Africa and Argentina, Dempsey was given a first start against the Springboks in Bloemfontein
"The first 15, 20 minutes, I was in a pretty dark place in terms of physically," Dempsey said.
"But at the same time, being my first start, you cant really ask for much more of a learning curve."
He retained a run-on place for the last two Tests away to Argentina and last Saturday's Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand, in which he was named man of the match.
"For me it was just all about staying a bit cool, calm and collected," Dempsey told AAP about his promotion to the role of starter.
"I was pressing the reset button every Monday after a game, not letting a good performance go to my head.
"Doing my processes right, going back to the basics for me.
"I've had a bit of a wild year in in terms of all over the joint with form and with injury.
"For me it was all about going day-by-day, week-by-week,and finding the form that I knew I had."
Dempsey has yet to experience defeat in a Wallabies jersey, though he has scant regard for that statistic considering it includes two draws against South Africa.
"In my eyes a draw is just as much as a loss," Dempsey said.
Finishing on the winning side in his first Bledisloe and and being named the best player in that game, hasn't given Dempsey a rose-tinted view of playing against the All Blacks.
"I think from a confidence point of view it's all well and good, but we were all sort of there when we lost the first two Bledisloes as well and we all saw how frustrating it was," he said.
"It (beating the All Blacks) is a nice little cherry on top, but we all know that we want to win the Bledisloe Cup, that's the goal.
"That's what we're aiming to do and every step we do up until next year is to get to that goal."
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