Fifteen weeks after his last club match, the Olympic sevens champion, back from vacation since Monday, is among the replacements in the group announced by the French and European champion team on Friday.
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This could be of the order of rarity. Antoine Dupont’s matches in the Top 14 regular season should be able to be counted with your fingers and perhaps on one hand. After the 12 matches (including five as substitutes) last season, the one against Clermont, Saturday October 12, will be one of them, as confirmed by the announcement of the Stade Toulouse group on social networks, Friday October 11. Replacing alongside Thibaud Flament or Julien Marchand, he will wear number 21.
Three and a half months after his last in red and black during the ultra-dominated final by his team against Union Bordeaux-Bègles (59-3) during which he scored two tries, the scrum half will find , Saturday, the French championship with a new status.
Olympic champion, first French gold medalist of the 2024 Paris Games, flag bearer during the closing ceremony, Antoine Dupont succeeded in a daring but profitable gamble by attempting the 7-player adventure at the cost of sacrifices from his club and his team. selection. Officially on vacation since his coronation on July 27, the best player in the world 2021 does not give the impression of having stopped, enjoying his new notoriety, that of an international superstar.
He was first able to enjoy the Olympic Games after finishing his competition the day after the opening ceremony, then the celebrations on the Champs-Elysées or Place du Capitole in Toulouse. A raid on Rugby Night and a notable appearance on the show “The Papotin meetings” later, he flew across the Atlantic for an American football camp with the Los Angeles Chargers. He then took the opportunity to meet Lionel Messi and Lebron James. On his return, an advertisement for Airbnb with the rental of the family home further confirmed his new dimension.
At the same time, the four-time French champion continued to train, and even made a few trips to the training center during his vacation. Present in the group to face Clermont on Saturday, one point behind Toulouse, he only made his official return to collective training since Monday. The appetite is therefore still there for the one who should return to the French team next month for the Autumn Nations Cup (against Japan on November 9, New Zealand on November 16 and Argentina on November 22) at the Stade de France. And then prepare for the Six Nations Tournament, more than a year after his last appearance with the XV of France. As soon as he returns, as soon as he leaves, Toulouse will have to share its jewel again.