Hearing Antoine Dupont speak at the launch of the 25th edition of the Six Nations Tournament in Rome on Tuesday 21st January, you could feel the excitement behind each of his sentences.
With 55 caps with the French National team to his name, he will play his 7th Six Nations Tournament kicking off on 31st January after missing the 2024 tournament due to Olympic preparation with the French 7's rugby team. “I missed it a lot. It wasn't easy watching the guys on TV last year, but I had other goals and now I'm really looking forward to returning to this wonderful Tournament. I hope to be ready for the first match,” he confided.
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“It’s the return of our captain with all the potential he has, that we know,” said head coach Fabien Galthié. “He was voted best player in the world two years ago, he has a lot of success with his club which is Stade Toulousain, he was Olympic champion with the French 7s team. He carries around him and with him an aura that impacts the France group. His return for us is something important."
13 minutes in two matches in his first Six Nations Tournament in 2017
Dupont won his first international cap during the 2017 Guinness Men's SIx Nations, in which he only played two matches as a replacement for Baptiste Serin: six minutes during the 40-18 victory over Italy in Rome, then one more minute against Wales at the Stade de France (victory for the Blues 20-18).
These first 13 minutes of the 2017 Tournament would lead to others like the following year when he played only one match, as a starter against Ireland (defeat of France 13-15), while this time he was replaced by Maxime Machenaud.
Seven years later, the French team will come back stronger than ever and Dupont, after a year away from this flagship competition, is hungry as hell. “We have a lot of ambition for this Tournament, just like the other teams. I think we have the potential. It’s a big challenge for us and we’re very excited about it,” he promises.
“It wasn’t easy to watch the guys. I think last year's result was not what we expected. But, once again, I had other objectives while being focused on my 7's career. I think that even if we were not at our best level, the end result was not so bad. We finished second in the Tournament. We had a good series in November and we must continue, keep the momentum for the Six Nations."
While he is said to be more focused on European events (Champions Cup) and international events (Autumn Nations Series, Six Nations Tournament) than on the Top 14, he doesn't let many events outside of rugby distract him too much, whether that be advertising, media opportunities, trips, concerts, joining the LA Chargers in the NFL, or meeting another sporting goat in Lionel Messi.
“I'm just focusing on my current goal. I have enough things to focus on every day as best I can, like trying to improve my game,” he answers simply. “We have a lot of ambition with Toulouse this year, as with the French team and I just focus on that, I try not to lose energy on other things. I save my energy for the field"
What the 7 brought to his game
Often dissatisfied with his own performance, which he still considers room for improvement, he confides that his experience was able to give him skills that, in fact, he did not have. According to him, the 7 made him even better in his game and he explained it. “I find that the biggest difference is the physical preparation. Cardio is completely different, but in the course of the game, there are still quite a few similarities,” he said.
“On a 7-a-side field, we have to be good in all rugby skills. Even if we are three-quarters XV, we have to be good on the rucks, make good passes, be quick. I think I need to work on certain skills that I didn't necessarily work on before, like in the ruck zones for example. I worked on my throws too, even if it will be less useful to me in XV's... But the ruck is the most important thing I worked on in 7's."
“Afterwards, there is everything around the matches, the tournaments, the environment… the energy is completely different. There was a lot of atmosphere in the stadiums and in the locker rooms, we listened to a lot of music. It's different. It was good for me to have another experience in terms of preparation in rugby. I think I needed that, especially last year"
Three away matches
Preparation with the Blues began this Monday, January 20 at the national rugby centre in Marcoussis. “We would like to have more time to prepare, but two weeks before the first match is already good, especially with an off weekend, even in the middle of the Top 14. It's comfort for us and it gives us more time to be the best possible for the first match,” assures the scrum-half.
This year, the French team will play the first and last matches of the Tournament at home, and the middle three away. “I think it’s a magical tournament where all the stadiums are incredible. All stadiums have their specificities, but I love playing everywhere,” he confides.
“At the Allianz, it will be a huge match, the same in Dublin and Rome. Perhaps the loudest stadium is Cardiff with the roof closed. We have good memories there. It’s hard to communicate with each other when we’re in the field. But we get goosebumps every time we go there."
There is no doubt that he will have goosebumps at the time of kick-off against Wales at the Stade de France on Friday January 31 evening. It will then be 685 days, or 1 year, 10 months and 13 days, since he has tasted the Six Nations Tournament.
