The Blues scrum-half will announce whether or not he will play in the Paris Olympic Games after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. A choice with serious consequences.
The idea has been stirring French rugby for months now: Antoine Dupont at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The player from Stade Toulouse and the XV of France wishes to participate with the Blues… at 7.”It’s been months since he talked about wanting to play in the Olympics“, explained its president at the Stade Toulouse Didier Lacroix, on August 23. The player himself confirmed this desire, Friday December 23, 2022: “It’s something that is very motivating, playing in the Olympic Games when you see the enthusiasm that it can generate. To say that we have a part of our sport which appears there and in addition to playing them in Paris“, he told RTL. However, this desire to participate in the Games can be difficult to reconcile with other parameters.
What this means for his club, Stade Toulouse
Wanting to participate in the Olympic Games is one thing. Wanting to participate by being under contract with a club is another, because that is one of the crux of the problem. Antoine Dupont is contractually linked to his employer, Stade Toulouse, until 2027, which means that he plays primarily for the Haut-Garonnais club. But the club and the player have “defined the contours of its presence at the Olympic Gamessaid the president of Stade Toulouse, Didier Lacroix, last August. We have prepared everything on our side, but the decision will come from the player. (…) Depending on his decision, there will of course be a whole adaptation for the current season.”
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Clearly, the player is authorized by his club to participate in the Olympic Games, even while being under contract in Toulouse. “JI had already spoken (with the club) some time ago on this subject and they were open“, confirmed the player trained in Auch on RTL last December. It now remains to be seen how this adaptation will go throughout the season.
What this means for the XV of France
After the elimination of the Blues in the quarter-final of the World Cup, against South Africa (29-28) on Sunday October 15, Antoine Dupont is waiting for the end of the competition. This is the deadline by which he should announce whether or not he will play the Paris Olympics with the French rugby sevens team.It would be wrong to do without it“, reacted Florian Grill, on France Bleu. “If Antoine Dupont agrees to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it will be a spotlight for the practice of rugby sevens.“, he added. However, this would have consequences for the XV of France: “It’s going to be discussions between the different staff, with the French 7s team too, because there is a group that has been there for several years and is working hard to be as efficient as possible. I hope, in any case, that it will be able to be done“, the player reacted on RTL.
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One of the consequences of Antoine Dupont’s choice concerns the Six Nations Tournament: in the event of a yes to the Olympics, he would give up all or part of the tournament. “It’s very clear to us: if Antoine wants to make the Olympic Games, he must be in the France 7 group beforesaid Florian Grill, at RMC. He must play with his partners, he must be an integral part of the group, he is expected very positively, but he will not be able to make the Tournament.“
Preparation for the Olympic Games involves the Sevens circuit which takes place in eight stages between the end of December 2023 and the beginning of June 2024. Two of these stages take place during the Six Nations Tournament: in Vancouver, from February 23 to 25, 2024 and in Los Angeles, March 2 and 3 of the same year.