Back with the French XV after his Olympic break, Antoine Dupont scares his opponents, even the toughest, like New Zealand. At a press conference, staff and players told how they will try to lock down the French genius.
Enormous foot length, unique reading of the game, perfect placement… Antoine Dupont's qualities are known to everyone and this is what makes the French captain certainly the No. 1 threat for the All Blacks. At a press conference, staff and players tried to solve a very complex enigma: how to stop Dupont?
And Scott Robertson's assistant coach, Hansen has a very specific idea: “Ask Fabien Galthié not to play him.” A proposal of course declined, since the Toulouse player was again established alongside Thomas Ramos at the opening (preferred in place of Matthieu Jalibert), as against Japan for his return to the selection more than a year later.
If the scrum-half achieved the double with Stade Toulousain last season, he arrives in great shape after his Olympic adventure concluded in the best possible way and a resounding return to the Top 14. A good thing according to Scott Hansen: “He (Dupont) is fantastic, it's great to have him in rugby, we want to see superstars like him. That's how the sport develops.”
“Respond presently in front of the pack and then embarrass Dupont”
Defeated during the two previous clashes between the French and New Zealanders, Ardie Savea, the vice-captain of the All Blacks, remembered the errors made in particular during the opening match of the 2023 World Cup. elsewhere a (real) solution to hinder the one who will pace the Blues' game. “If we don't respond physically to their huge pack, we'll allow Dupont to lead the show, I hope we'll manage to control him, but we know and respect his class, there are guys that you can't stop, but we're going to do our best,” Savea respectfully affirmed at a press conference on Wednesday. Before his captain Scott Barrett warns: “If we give him opportunities, he will take them.”
If the anti-Dupont game plan is clear, the French staff will try to counter with a tactical decision, that of aligning a bench in 6-2 (six forwards, two backs).
Nathan Giordana with Maria Azé
