‘Hungry’ France rugby star Antoine Dupont shines in win over Japan

PARIS – France star Antoine Dupont said on Nov 9 that he was “hungry” as he provided two try-scoring assists in the easy 52-12 win over Japan on his 15-a-side return.

The 27-year-old had been absent for 13 months as he helped take Les Bleus’ sevens team to a historic Olympic gold medal in July.

He was omnipresent as they stormed to a 31-0 half-time lead over a dismal Japan in Paris.

“We started well, the conditions were perfect,” said captain Dupont. “It was a good moment, I’d been expecting it for a few weeks. I had good feelings, I was hungry and enjoyed it.”

Japan coach Eddie Jones heaped praise on the 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year.

“We gave him far too much time and space,” said the Australian. “When he gets on the front foot, he’s able to attack the defenders.

“He looked sharp and I’m sure with another week of training, he’ll be sharper.”

France dominated from the get-go, with five tries in the opening 34 minutes. “Physically we couldn’t cope with France’s size and power,” Jones said.

“We struggled to get on the front foot. When you’re playing on the back foot with an inexperienced team, it’s difficult to stay in the game,” he added.

France scored only three tries in the second half, as Japan crossed twice via Harumichi Tatekawa and Tevita Tatafu. Les Bleus’ tries came via Louis Bielle-Biarrey (two), Emilien Gailleton, Alexandre Roumat, Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros and Paul Boudehent (two).

“Consciously or unconsciously there’s always a bit of a let-up when you have a big lead,” Dupont said.

“You pay for it at this level even if we remained consistent. It was more than positive altogether though,” he added.

Jones started his second reign as Japan coach in January, with his first game a heavy defeat by former employers England in June. He had led Japan to a surprise win over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in his first stint with the Brave Blossoms.

At the start of 2024, he admitted his goal was to be among the top four sides in the world, but Japan were ranked 14th before the defeat by France. “That’s a long-term goal,” said Jones. “We weren’t expecting to be there after four months together. But why not?”

Knocking on the door of the top four in the immediate term are world No. 6 Argentina.

Coach Felipe Contepomi was of course happy with his side’s 50-18 demolition of Italy on Nov 9, but he was even more thrilled with how they achieved the win.

Italy made far too many errors, but Argentina’s intensity meant they took full advantage every time, leading to the emphatic win.

“We always say the same thing about the results. They are great and you want and seek to win. It is what we like the most, but the way we get there is more important,” Contepomi said.

“We talked about being intense, we knew they were going to be very intense. I think we saw a team that had a better physical return in the last 20 minutes.”

Argentina raced into a 17-0 lead and, although Italy did manage to close the gap to four points at one stage, Contepomi’s side stuck to their game plan and ran out easy winners. AFP, REUTERS