The Toulouse scrum-half has, for twenty minutes, done everything to the Toulonnais. Time to offer three tries to his teammates and fold the match (20-3, final score 28-8).
It didn’t take long for the first “Dupont ! Dupont !“, tumble from the stands of the Ernest-Wallon stadium. Barely twenty minutes into the first home game. It must be said that the scrum half made the show.17e minute, a fake pass to launch an unstoppable placed attack. 20e minute, his kick puts the Toulonnais under pressure, who clear without finding the key; Reception from Dupont, straight from Dupont, acceleration from Dupont. He fixes the last defenders and sends his winger on trial. 23e minute, a furious tumble on the left wing, five Toulonnais in the wind, including one seated by a disintegrating racket. 26e minute, new tumble, feint of pass, small low kick which sets fire in the 22 meters of the RCT. Dupont launches its forwards. Test. 20-3. The match is folded.
We will see much less of the scrum-half afterwards. But the impression left by these twenty minutes of madness will not fade. Confirmed by his statistics. 15 races and 141 meters covered ball in hand, 6 defenders beaten, three crossings. Decisive on the three tries. And an impressive 13 out of 14 in the tackle, including a big stamp on the imposing winger of the RCT, the Fijian Jiuta Wainiqolo. For a part-time performance, it’s quite impressive…
Read alsoTop 14: in video, the summary of Toulouse’s victory against Toulon marked by the Dupont show
Faced with the deluge of praise, the Toulouse three-quarter coach, Clément Poitrenaud, applied himself to restoring some measure. “We know his punch. From the moment he has a little space, he is demonic.So much for the satisfaction. Otherwise ? “There are still a few things to review for him. He had his share of individual errors, which prevented us from being even more effective“. These two approximate kicks, for example at the end of the first half (a direct touch, a blocked ball).
Read alsoTops/Flops Toulouse-Toulon: Dupont pattern size, Wainiqolo draft
We can also invoke a certain passivity of the Toulon defense which favored the Cannes festival of Antoine Dupont. “We spent twenty minutes watching them play“, Thus squeaked the Var manager, Franck Azéma. We were always running after them.” Not false. The merit of Antoine Dupont is to have supported where it hurt. The perfect conclusion is signed Ange Capuozzo, the winger and rookie of Stade Toulousain. “I am very happy to have Antoine in my camp…»