Cyrille de la Morinerie // Photo credit: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP
9:15 a.m., November 9, 2024
The XV of France faces Japan this Saturday evening, at the Stade de France, to start the fall tour. A tour during which the Blues will face New Zealand and Argentina. More than a year after his last match, a quarter-final lost to South Africa in the World Cup, Antoine Dupont returns to the selection with great appetite.
The time for reunion has come. Antoine Dupont will return this Saturday evening to the Stade de France, the place where on July 27, he became a hero by winning the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with the French rugby sevens team. Japan, return to 15-a-side rugby, but the jersey is still blue as during the Games.
“I was really looking forward to meeting the team again”
And the landmarks were quickly found, notably in Marcoussis where he has been training for 15 days. Antoine Dupont is now looking forward to playing this match against Japan, as he said in a press conference at the microphone of Europe 1: “I was very impatient to find the team, especially the guys who make it up and obviously the Stade de France with the deadlines coming up. So very happy and that's fine, I wasn't lost, I quickly found myself.
It's the boss's return. The 27-year-old scrum half takes back his number 9 jersey as well as the captain's armband of the XV of France. A no-brainer for the Blues staff. But how does Antoine Dupont approach this role of captain? : “As I have done until now, there are quite a few experienced players. The exchanges are fluid, so I hope it will continue like this.” Antoine Dupont now dreams of winning the only title missing from his immense record: the World Cup in 2027.
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