Superstar Antoine Dupont returns ‘better than before’ for France’s November Tests

Paris: French rugby’s golden boy Antoine Dupont is set to feature for his country’s 15-a-side team on Nov 9 for the first time since a morale-denting Rugby World Cup exit a little over a year ago.

In the 13 months since the home loss to champions South Africa, the scrum-half has helped the France sevens team to an Olympic gold as well as claiming a French Top 14 and Champions Cup double with club Toulouse.

Next up, the 27-year-old is in line to captain France against Japan at the Stade de France, where he claimed Olympic success to banish most of the hurt from the World Cup quarter-final defeat.

“It was an important objective for him to be able to play in the Olympic Games,” France flanker and Toulouse teammate Francois Cros said. “It was something incredible for him and French rugby.”

Already a national icon, the Olympic victory took Dupont’s status to an international level.

After the Games, he went on holiday in the United States, meeting basketball legend LeBron James and Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi as well as visiting the training set-up of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Chargers.

“Since he’s come back, after having a good break, he’s better than what he was before,” Cros added. “So it’s obviously a pleasure to have him back.”

In his first 15s game since the Olympics, Dupont scored a nine-minute hat-trick for Toulouse against Clermont before two impressive displays against Pau and Toulon. In the three Top 14 appearances, he has showcased his acceleration and support play, two key aspects of sevens.

“I think it’s opened him up a bit more, even if he didn’t really need to open up further, rugby-wise,” Cros said.

“He saw a new type of rugby with new skills he was able to develop. I think Antoine has the ability, whatever the situation, to find the gap and the key, it’s his strong point.”

Cros and Dupont have been club teammates for almost a decade, so they would know each other well.

For the new campaign, which includes facing New Zealand on Nov 16 and Argentina six days later, Dupont has been reinstalled as skipper. Gregory Alldritt stood in during the Six Nations and Baptiste Serin wore the armband during July’s tour of South America.

“The question didn’t even need to be asked, it’s natural to us for him to be captain,” Cros said.

“Since he’s come back his standards have been the same – if not better, there was no doubt about that subject.”