The coach of the Argentine Rugby sevens team Santiago Gomez Cora explained that he did not understand the presence of Antoine Dupont among the nominees for best player of the year in rugby sevens. He even mentioned “a lack of respect” .
The presence of Antoine Dupont is not unanimous. At least among the influential people in world rugby sevens. Yesterday, Monday November 18, last year's converted septist was nominated for the World Rugby Awards. He appears, in the “best player of the year at 7” category, alongside his teammate Aaron Grandidier Nkanang and Terry Kennedy. A presence which seems, from a purely factual point of view, quite understandable given that the Blues scrum half, in four contested tournaments, has first won the Los Angeles tournament, the final stage of the world circuit in Madrid as well as the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Also read:
International – Antoine Dupont for sevens, Pauline Bourdon-Sansus for women… Discover the World Rugby Awards nominations
“I think it’s too much.”
However, his presence in this trio did not really convince Santiago Gomez Cora, coach of the Argentina national team. The South American boss spoke on ESPN: “I don't agree at all [avec sa nomination]. I now understand many things that I already assumed. […] He played two World Tour stops, including one as a substitute. He played a total of 12 minutes in Vancouver and they put him on the roster. From there we got worried. In Los Angeles he played a little longer and was named the tournament's best player and so on. And now the player of the year. I think it's too much and it's a lack of respect.”
Dupont, double executioner of the Argentines
Marcos Moneta, a member of the Argentine team, tempered his coach's comments by recognizing that the presence of a Frenchman is, ultimately, quite logical: “I think there must be a Frenchman. They won Madrid and the Games. […] And then, I don't like to talk about it because it concerns my team, but I would have put Matías Osadczuk.”
As a reminder, Antoine Dupont and the French eliminated the Argentinians in the final (19-5) during the final stage in Madrid, and in the quarter-final (26-14) during the Paris Olympics.
