Antoine Dupont makes Rugby history by becoming the first male player to be crowned best rugby sevens player of the year at the 2024 World Rugby Awards in Monaco, after having already been crowned in rugby union. His distinction rewards exceptional performances at the Paris Olympic Games, where he led the French sevens rugby team to the gold medal.
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Antoine Dupont makes rugby history on Sunday November 24, 2024, during the World Rugby Awards 2024, held in Monaco. The Toulouse player became the first male player to be crowned best player of the year in rugby sevens, after having already been in rugby union in 2021. Dupont was honored for his exceptional performances at the Paris Olympic Games, where he led the French sevens rugby team to the gold medal.
Antoine Dupont certainly didn't play a lot of sevens, barely four tournaments out of nine over the entire year including the Games, but those who doubted his adaptation quickly backed away. After a modest first tournament in Vancouver, the Stade Toulouse player shone in Los Angeles, where France won its first world tournament since 2005.
At the Paris Olympics, Dupont played a crucial role, scoring two decisive tries in the final against Fiji. His speed and intelligence were decisive in winning the first French gold medal in rugby sevens.
His stints at VII, with a schedule arranged thanks to an agreement between the federation and his club Toulouse, did not prevent him from winning a Championship-European Cup double, where Dupont shone each time he played.
His non-participation in the 2024 Six Nations Tournament de facto prevented him from claiming the title of best XV player, which is only fixed on international matches.
South African flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, a major player in the Boks' success in the Rugby Championship, won the trophy for the second time after 2019. France won three other distinctions: that of best coach for Jérôme Daret, the coach of the Blues at the Paris Games, as well as the tests of the year at XV marked by winger Marine Ménager and scrum half Nolann Le Garrec.
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