Fast forward to today and Dingwall is one of the leaders in a Northampton Saints team that have finished top of the Prem and reached a European Champions Cup final a year ago – and he has made his England debut too.
At the start of each week at Saints, the coaches and senior players like Dingwall push messages and motivations for the forthcoming game.
Friday night’s semi-final against Leicester Tigers has certainly sharpened minds, especially after a thumping defeat last month at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
“We address the emotion at the start of the week,” he said. “The messaging is very intentional and it starts earlier than people realise.
“The emotional cues are then picked up at the end of the week before the game.
“The leading style we have comes from our actions. The best leaders I have seen back it up by how they act.”
Dingwall has been described as the “glue player”, someone who does all the unseen work in both defence and attack, improving the players around him.
He laughs at the label, but likes it.
“It’s a nice thing to be called and has good connotations,” he smiles. “As long as I bring the best out of people, it can only be a good thing to me.
“I’d hope that players feel my presence. I am there giving information and there are lots of small decisions to be made. It can happen quite fast, can become chaotic and so you’re always desperate to say level-headed.
“We still get a lot of things wrong but the more you practice the more you get right. Leadership is about self-awareness as well.”