The French scrum half, who had resumed collective training on Tuesday, carried out Wednesday’s session with a helmet and the holders’ bib.
Antoine Dupont, who resumed training with a helmet at the start of the week, “is at 100% capacity”, forward coach William Servat assured Wednesday, October 11, four days before facing South Africa in the quarter-final of the World Cup.
His declaration paves the way for the captain of the Blues to be present during Sunday’s clash (9 p.m.) at the Stade de France. The suspense will be lifted within 48 hours, with Fabien Galthié due to unveil the composition of the French team at midday on Friday. Back in the group, and after obtaining a favorable opinion from his surgeon on Monday, he participated in the Blues’ training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Antoine is an intelligent person, he’s a sensible person. If he says he can play again, it’s because he is fully capable of doing so”, estimated third row Grégory Alldritt. “Antoine Dupont is doing very well.”assured William Servat, the forward coach of the XV of France
Helmet and chasuble holder
Tuesday, Antoine Dupont started the session normally, chaining runs and passes without apparent discomfort, even colliding with his probable hinge partner, fly-half Matthieu Jalibert. After 15 minutes, once the journalists had left, the Toulouse man had put on a black helmet. During Wednesday’s high-intensity session, he again wore a black helmet with white edging, this time under the lenses of the cameras and cameras, participating normally in the session.
Antoine Dupont wore a blue chasuble during this session, that of the probable holders. However, he kept his distance during the regroupings, moving to the wing. “We tested to see what it gave, to find out if it really protected or not. We wanted to check if his vision was impaired. In his hearing too, even if there was no problem in Rueil-Malmaison the same noise, the same atmosphere as at the Stade de France. We tried with or without. A decision will be made at the end of the week.”French attack coach Laurent Labit explained on Tuesday.
Will Antoine Dupont be with the Blues against the Boks on Sunday? His return is hoped for for this titanic quarter. “Antoine has been one of the team’s biggest defenders for a number of years”continues Servat. “He is at 100% of his capabilities and there is no reason to disrupt anything”he added, when asked about a potential defensive change to protect the scrum-half.