Stephen Parez looks back on his cohabitation with Antoine Dupont at the Olympic Games

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The France 7 Blues were the precursors of an Olympic summer rich in emotions. On July 27, 2024, an entire country fell into the arms of Jérôme Daret’s squad after their victory against Fiji (28-7) in the final of the Olympic tournament.

A victory signed by Antoine Dupont, untenable in the final including a double. “As soon as he touches something, he turns it into gold” joked Stephen Parezwho shared the scrum half position with him, at the microphone of the Basta Show broadcast by Rugby Pass.

“We will be forever grateful to him”

The one who has been a regular on the French rugby sevens team since 2013 returned in more detail to the contribution of Antoine Dupont : “He came with all his humility, his sense of precision, the desire to perform. »

An energy that touched the whole group: “We were keen to offer him a title that he cannot necessarily see with rugby union […] He managed to unconsciously raise the level, to give additional confidence which allowed us to do great things. We will be forever grateful to him. »

Healthy competition

If he could legitimately fear for his role with the arrival of such a player in his position, Stephen Parez, on the contrary, linked a very special relationship with Antoine Dupont: “We got to know each other, he is rather reserved so I tried to put him at ease and we created something quite special by working together and I felt his respect for me . »

On the pitch too, the two players have become quite complementary: “I tried to help him as much as possible, he is a very intelligent person, he understands very quickly. He challenged me on some questions that I had never thought about. » Links that are likely to persist, for all a team united by this unique Olympic coronation.

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