“It would be futile to have a plan against him. » Ronan O’Gara’s half-resigned, half-admiring comment when asked if he intended to prepare an anti-Antoine Dupont plan found an echo on the pitch…
“It would be futile to have a plan against him. » Ronan O’Gara’s half-resigned, half-admiring comment when asked if he intended to prepare an anti-Antoine Dupont plan found an echo on the lawn of Matmut Atlantique. In line with his performances since he prepared to compete in the Olympic Games, he delivered a new electric performance.
Behind a pack of forwards who suffered against the density of La Rochelle, until the expulsion of Uini Atonio (44e), the scrum-half worked to create uncertainty around all contact zones.
Sharp, “bleeding” in his accelerations, the unofficial best player in the world found faults at the heart of the La Rochelle curtain. Illustration with a prolonged breakthrough by Arnold who finally aborted (28th).
Of course, he didn’t get everything right. He sometimes gave the impression of getting stuck in the opposing defense, he was also able to expose himself to La Rochelle’s strike force in the ground game. But these few drawbacks do not alter its impact.
Vista and glance
“If you make a plan, you give another Toulouse player an opportunity, and anyone is capable of scoring,” explained the Irish manager of Stade Rochelais. Here again, the facts partly proved him right. Because if Antoine Dupont stood out with ball in hand, with this talent found in the duels, it is through the quality of his pass and his eye that he also weighed in this meeting. With his powerful and refined pass, he was the decisive passer on Toulouse’s first three tries.
As much as that of Blair Kinghorn, where he reversed the game with a lightning transmission in the short side, as on the two tries of Juan Cruz Mallia (31e48e). A double from the Argentinian to which the Toulouse captain also contributed, in his first act, by quickly playing a penalty.
“It’s magnificent for world rugby to have a guy of this class,” praised Ronan O’Gara: “When you are his coach, you have to appreciate all his qualities. » About as much as he must be angry every time he meets him.
: Antoine Dupont invents the hat-trick by proxy){kind=link}