Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Wednesday November 6, 2024 at 9:30 p.m.
While Antoine Dupont will end a year of absence with the XV of France, his teammate François Cros assured the press that the scrum half of the Blues has changed for the better since his last selection, in particular thanks to his transition to rugby 7s.
It’s a return that will change a lot of things. Focused on his dream of an Olympic gold medal in rugby sevens, acquired in a melting Stade de France on July 27, Antoine Dupont put aside the French XV at the end of the last World Cup. This Saturday, during the match against Japan, the Blues will reunite with their captain. According to his club teammate François Cros, who spoke this Wednesday at a press conference, it is a different player who will enter the pitch at the Stade de France to face the “Brave Blossoms” to launch the November tour , a match which will be followed by that against the All Blacks then against Argentina. Admitting that participating in Paris 2024 was “a very important objective for him”, the French third row assured that after having “cut” for several weeks, Antoine Dupont “came back just as strong, if not better”. “It’s obviously a pleasure to have him back for us already in the club,” he added in comments collected by the daily Le Figaro. And there, to have him with us in the French team, obviously, it’s a big plus for us. »
Cros: “He saw a new rugby”
Asked what rugby sevens could have brought to Antoine Dupont, François Cros has already formed an idea. “I think the 7th opened it up a little bit. Even if he does not need to have an opening on rugby, he declared with a smile on his lips. But he saw a new rugby and he was able to develop new skills. » The third row assures that the number 9 of the Blues “has the intelligence to find the fault and the key whatever the situation”. A “big strong point” that he was notably able to demonstrate during the final of the Olympic tournament against the Fijians, during which he was the detonator by coming off the bench at the start of the second period. A return with the XV of France that Antoine Dupont will make with the status of captain. For François Cros, this is anything but a problem. “It was only natural for us that he would come back as captain. He was before leaving at 7, he recalled to conclude his remarks. When he comes back, knowing that his level is the same, or even better, there is no debate on that subject. » A captain ready to lead his team in a match that promises to be intense.
