France scrum-half Antoine Dupont has won the 2022 Guinness Six Nations Player of Round 3 for his starring role in his side’s 36-17 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh.
Following in the footsteps of teammate Gabin Villière, who took the prize in Round 2, the Les Bleus skipper was at the heart of everything as the visitors prevailed at BT Murrayfield.
It took no time at all for him to make his mark, collecting Finn Russell’s deep kick early on before launching a remarkable counter-attack that led to the opening try of the match.
Russell’s had looked like a good option when it forced the French backfield cover all the way to their own 22. The problem was that the man collecting the ball was Dupont.
The 2020 Guinness Six Nations Player of the Championship sized up the kick-chase, skipped past Darcy Graham and Rory Darge before running over Ali Price to set up a stunning score.
That was not the only time that Price was on the receiving end from his opposite number, with one thumping tackle smashing the Scotland scrum-half backwards.
Stuart McInally suffered a similar fate though, with Dupont happy to defend forwards and backs in equal measure as he notched 13 tackles in a scintillating display from the French skipper.
And Dupont was the clear winner of Player of the Round in the eyes of the public, receiving 43% of the vote to top the poll ahead of Ireland debutant Mike Lowry.
Lowry received 27% of the vote to finish runner-up behind the reigning World Rugby Player of the Year, having scored a brace in Ireland’s 57-6 victory over the Azzurri in Dublin.
Cyril Baille’s impressive display against Scotland earned him 20% of the public vote while Alex Dombrandt finished with 10% after helping England beat Wales 23-19 at Twickenham.
Guinness Six Nations Player of Round 3 results
Antoine Dupont (Scotland v FRANCE) – 43%
Mike Lowry (IRELAND v Italy) – 27%
Cyril Baille (Scotland v FRANCE) – 20%
Alex Dombrandt (ENGLAND v Wales) – 10%
