The captain of the XV of France, Antoine Dupont, joins the rugby sevens group for the Olympic Games – Libération

2023-11-15 19:21:01

The scrum half will be in January in the group which will prepare for the 2024 Olympics in rugby sevens, the French Rugby Federation announced this Wednesday, November 14.

He left the pitch at the Stade de France in tears during the World Cup quarter-final defeat against South Africa on October 15. The captain of the XV of France Antoine Dupont is well on his way to getting a second chance to shine on the international scene. Scrum half Antoine Dupont will “join” in January “the group which will prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games” in rugby sevens, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) confirmed this Wednesday, November 14.

The integration of Dupont (27 years old, 52 caps) into the group which will prepare the rugby sevens event of the Olympic Games will be officially announced on Monday on the sidelines of a D-250 event organized by the FFR at the headquarters of France Télévisions, broadcaster of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As a result, Fabien Galthié’s French XV will have to do without its starting scrum-half for the next Six Nations Tournament, which will begin on February 2 in Marseille against Ireland.

Agreement of all parties

All stakeholders (club, player, Federation, XV and VII selections) came to an agreement, after the World Cup which for the Blues ended in the quarter-finals against South Africa (29 -28), so that the French rugby superstar can try his luck at the Olympics. It now remains for Dupont to convince the general manager of the French sevens rugby team, Christophe Reigt, and the coach, Jérôme Daret.

With this in mind, the Toulouse player will participate in the world circuit, starting with the two tournaments in Vancouver (February 23 to 25) and Los Angeles (March 2 to 3), with the Blues, currently fourth in the world rankings.

Sevens rugby appeared at the Olympic Games during the 2016 edition in Rio. Among the men, it was Fiji who won the last two Olympics. For women, the medal went to Australia in 2016 and New Zealand in 2020. France finished 7th in 2016 and did not qualify for the last Olympics.