Dupont Top 14 return not embraced by opponent

PREVIEW: France Olympic gold medallist Antoine Dupont will make his first appearance in the 2024/5 Top 14 season on Saturday against Clermont.

Toulouse coach Ugo Mola hailed the star scrumhalf’s return as a welcome boost for the struggling champions.

Dupont’s comeback comes two and a half months after clinching Olympic gold with the France Sevens outfit on home soil.

Mola believes that the return of Dupont will have an impact on the entire side following back-to-back defeats for the defending Top 14 champions.

“[What] he gives to all his teammates through the trust he evokes, what he generates… we must not underestimate this.”

Dupont will make his first appearance in a Toulouse jersey since the French giants overpowered Bordeaux-Begles in the 2023/4 Top 14 Final back in June.

“The first person to be happy about this return is obviously him. After two and a half months, he was a little fed up,” said his teammate Dimitri Delibes.

“It gives the group a bit of a boost. He is one of the leaders of the team. He always has the right word, always the right advice.” He added.

Since the 27-year-old’s Olympic success on home soil, he was also named the Top 14’s player of the season for 2023/4.

He spent over a week in the United States meeting Argentina football icon Lionel Messi in Miami as well as NBA legend LeBron James in California and visiting the Los Angeles Chargers’ NFL set-up.

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His return is a timely one as his side lost back-to-back matches to Bordeaux-Begles (16-12) and Castres (28-23) respectively.

The record 23-time Top 14 champions had an average start to the season with three wins in their first five matches in Dupont’s absence.

Mola praised Dupont’s dedication as the scrumhalf trained with Toulouse during his time off, as he also prepares for France’s November Tests against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina respectively.

He stated that Dupont was constantly ‘pushing the cursor’ and was aware that he would be ridiculed for any ‘lacklustre’ performances.

“He knows that and he works accordingly. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t hang out too much on holiday,” Mola added.

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Argentine utility back Juan Cruz Mallia also returns to the side.

“It’s good to see the two again. They bring that confidence and that little extra,” said lock Joshua Brennan.

Clermont flyhalf Benjamin Urdapilleta was not so happy about coming up against Dupont.

“He couldn’t have waited another week? We don’t have any luck,” the Argentine quipped on French radio.

Clermont are currently sixth in the Top 14 standings, one point behind Toulouse.

Tournament leaders Bordeaux-Begles will host Perpignan while second-placed La Rochelle are on the road to face Bayonne and Racing 92 will play host to the third placed Toulon.