The Blues scrum half, authorized on Monday to resume collective training, had his first session with the French XV since his injury against Namibia.
Back in training on Tuesday, Antoine Dupont is expected to reach the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup: “If he’s on the pitch, it’s because he’s 100%”launched French attack coach Laurent Labit on Tuesday, five days before facing South Africa on Sunday at the Stade de France (9 p.m.).
Is it a relief to have Antoine Dupont in training?
Laurent Labit: “Every time a player comes back, we are relieved. It’s an added strength for the team. But we have a group of 33 on whom we can count: we saw it against Italy, who was a decisive match. Maxime (Lucu) and Baptiste (Couilloud) had a very good match. He knows his role, we are satisfied with his return. Today, we trained with moderate intensity, we are going to improve the cursor then (…) The goal was above all to reconnect with the team.”
Do you fear that he will be targeted by the Springboks?
No. If Antoine is on the field on Sunday, it is because he is at 100% of his mental and physical capabilities. When he is at 100%, it is difficult to make an individual mark on him. But, for us, he remains a player like the others: he is certainly an important player, but we also have others to watch.
Why did he put on a helmet at the end of training?
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 not the same noise, the same atmosphere in Rueil-Malmaison as at the Stade de France. We tried with or without. A decision will be made at the end of the week. Today’s training was our first of the week, it was more focused on our strategy, on our game. So it was good for him to get back among his partners, for them to get used to him. He has different qualities from Maxime or Baptiste. But I’m not worried about him physically, he barely stopped, there’s no problem. If the surgeon gave the green light on Monday, it is because he considers that everything is in place. There is no need to box him to know if he can play on Sunday.