Gatland wary of 'humble' Dupont
REACTION: Warren Gatland says he has “huge” respect for Antoine Dupont as Wales bid to end their long losing streak in a Six Nations opener against France, captained by the star scrumhalf.
Dupont is returning to the championship after missing last year’s edition to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris, where he won a gold medal in the Sevens.
At 28, Dupont is already regarded as one of the best scrumhalves in history.
Wales face a daunting task at the Stade de France on Friday, where Gatland’s men will try to end a national record 12-match losing streak – a woeful run that includes being whitewashed in last year’s Six Nations.
“He’s definitely up there in terms of that position ]No.9],” Wales coach Gatland said on Wednesday after naming his team to play France.
“The influence he has on a game, whether he is playing for France or Toulouse or even with France in the sevens, you can see the impact that he has.”
* (Article continues below …)
‘Excellent’
The veteran New Zealander added: “He’s not the biggest person in the world when you are standing next to him, but he’s incredibly quick and he’s powerful, he’s got great vision.
“We’ve spoken about him a little bit, but our whole focus can’t be on him. He’s excellent in terms of staying on his feet and getting the ball away in contact.
“You don’t see him get tackled a huge amount of times unless he’s potentially in those wider channels.
“He’s got an excellent kicking game, kicks off both feet, so we’ve got a huge amount of respect for him as a player and as a captain.”
Gatland said he was impressed by Dupont’s attitude as much as his outstanding skill.
“One of the things I admire about him is just how humble he is as well,” he explained.
“He’s one of those guys who comes from a village… and got recruited by Toulouse, but I think his upbringing sort of defines him as a person.”
Wales have lost their past six Tests against France, who are huge favourites to win Friday’s match.
Fabien Galthie’s men defeated New Zealand in November and French clubs such as Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles lead the way in this season’s European Champions Cup.
But Gatland, in his second spell as Wales boss, said the situation could work in favour of the underdogs.
“We’ve spoken about the fact that ironically there is probably more pressure and expectation on them (France),” he said.
“There is expectation from their fans. They expect their team to throw the ball around and score tries.”
Gatland, who has recalled two seasoned performers in full-back Liam Williams and wing Josh Adams to his starting side, added: “From experience and my point of view, teams can try a bit too much early on and throw the ball around and that gives you opportunities.
“We haven’t spoken about the negativity. You try to create a little bit of your own siege mentality where you build that up in your own environment…. We want to go out there and play some good rugby.
“We want to go out there and do some things that potentially France aren’t going to expect us to do.”
