Antoine Dupont had been, as usual, hazed for his first internship with the French rugby sevens team: a short series of ten burpees that he had to perform among his new partners. A year after his last, he did not escape a new hazing for his return with the XV of France, who will face Japan during the fall tour this Saturday, November 9 (9:10 p.m.), the All Blacks a week later then Argentina (November 22).
For Dupont, putting the blue house in order
“My return went well… I just had the right to a very slight hazing: they made me do the war cry at the end of the first training”he declared in an interview with Olympic Midday.
Dupont has not played with the Blues since the quarter-final lost against South Africa (29-28) during the 2023 World Cup. In the meantime, he took a one-year break to fully devote himself to his dream come true of becoming an Olympic champion.
During his absence, the XV of France dragged on its spleen during a gloomy 6 Nations tournament, where it was notably unable to beat Italy (13-13). The summer tour then turned into a nightmare after the publication of a racist video by Melvyn Jaminet, followed by accusations of aggravated gang rape against Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou.
READ ALSO. “There are too many matches”: Antoine Dupont criticizes a schedule that is too busy
In this context, his return is timely. He will be able to restore order in the blue house. No wonder, therefore, that Fabien Galthié gave him back the keys to the truck. In fact, he regained the captain's armband to the detriment of Grégory Aldritt, who was acting as interim captain.
France
