France scrum-half Antoine Dupont cleared to resume playing ahead of South Africa clash after surgery

PARIS – Antoine Dupont’s chances of playing in France’s quarter-final clash against defending champions South Africa at the Rugby World Cup were given a massive boost when he was cleared to resume rugby training on Monday.

The team captain underwent surgery on a broken cheekbone on Sept 22 and after quickly going back to light training, was waiting for the green light from his surgeon to start making contact with other players.

Following the 26-year-old’s visit to surgeon Frederic Lauwers in Toulouse, the French rugby federation (FFR) said in a statement: “Antoine Dupont has obtained the authorisation to resume rugby training as early as today.”

The French staff had said that the surgeon’s clearance was key to Dupont’s possible participation in Sunday’s game against the Springboks, adding that the player would have the final say on whether he would want to be on the field.

Should he feel ready, head coach Fabien Galthie and his staff will also assess if he is to start.

Some criticised the idea of Dupont coming back too soon, including former France back-rower Olivier Magne.

“There’s a level of danger that is significant with an early return, so you have to be vigilant,” he said after Dupont’s injury.

“There’s a problem with the message it sends out to the general public by allowing a player back (so soon) after such a serious injury,”

Maxime Lucu deputised in France’s final Pool A game against Italy and the scrum-half did a fine job with club partner and fly-half Matthieu Jalibert as Les Bleus demolished Italy 60-7 last Friday in Lyon.

“If he gets the green light to play with contact again, we will resume gradually and then we will need to see how the players react, if he’s 100 per cent fit and if he has any apprehension,” France’s health manager Bruno Boussagol said last week.

“Finally, the coaches will decide. It is not because he is on the (training) pitch that he will play the game.”

France won all their group games, including a 27-13 victory against three-time champions New Zealand in the tournament’s opening match.

Dupont was rested for the following game against Uruguay but started to face Namibia, a test France won 96-0.

In the 45th minute, he left the pitch after a head-on-head collision with Namibia captain Johan Deysel and underwent surgery the same night in Toulouse.

France have suffered several injuries in the build-up to the tournament and during the competition, with lock Paul Willemse and key fly-half Romain Ntamack both ruled out before the start, while hooker Julien Marchand is still recovering from a thigh injury he picked up during the All Blacks game. 

Meanwhile, Portugal secured a historic first World Cup victory with a last-gasp 24-23 win over Fiji on Sunday, but the Pacific Islanders nonetheless advanced to a quarter-final showdown with England next week.

Fiji looked to have wrapped up the win with two late Frank Lomani penalties, but there was drama as Rodrigo Marta crossed for a try, converted at the death by the excellent Samuel Marques.

In the other game, fellow Pacific Islanders Tonga maintained their record of at least one victory at every tournament since 2007, beating Romania 45-24. REUTERS, AFP