This season, Antoine Dupont has so far played more international matches with Stade Toulousain than Top 14 matches. This Sunday, he will make his fourth appearance in the Champions Cup, while he has only taken part in three Championship matches. A management which raises questions for the manager, Ugo Mola, who deplores this situation created by the Olympic Games.
This summer, Antoine Dupont enchanted the whole of France by allowing the French Rugby sevens team to win the gold medal at Jeux Paris Olympics. The Blues star was then entitled to two months of vacation, which did not really help the affairs of Toulouse.
“I deplore this situation”
At a press conference this Friday, the manager of Toulouse, Ugo Molawas questioned about repeated absences of Antoine Dupont in Top 14 : « I deplore this situation, obviously, because when you don't have your best player or the best player on the planet, it's annoying. The more you have, the better. The current situation is linked to the fact that Antoine was let go during the Olympic Games. It's a bit of a paradox of the season. He will play more in the French team than with us, more in the Champions Cup than in the Top 14, especially since if we go far in the first competition, he may not play much in the second by the end. »
“The first one to be frustrated is me”
« Is it cyclical? Or should we perhaps think about whether this kind of unusual and different player will only play international competitions in the future? But that's up to the president to think about, not the coach that I am. Afterwards, perhaps the broadcaster (of the Top 14, Canal+) will complain at one point or another about not having him and the others on the field too often, estimated Mola. But there are still questions to be asked about the status of the players. The first frustrated person in this story is the coach that I am. Afterwards, it is his teammates and the supporters who, unfortunately, do not see him enough on the pitch. »
