the Dupont case, a paradox of the strategy of the Galthié era

The image has become so rare that it may have made you tick. In the 58th minute of the second match of the autumn tour won by the Blues, Sunday, November 14, against Georgia (41-15), the captain and number 9 tricolor Antoine Dupont was replaced. An exit which offered Bordelo-Béglais Maxime Lucu his first cape, after having cheated on the bench against Argentina (29-20). A relatively quick exit for the favorite soldier of the coach Fabien Galthié, which recalls the special status of the Toulouse scrum half.

So yes, it had been several minutes since, behind slightly less solid forwards, the Toulousain seemed a little worn. He rushed out of the balloons without knowing where to turn or who to deliver the precious oval. In short, on paper, in a folded match and having a manager like Maxime Lucu on the bench, it would have been a shame not to bring down this card. All the more so, when it allows its executive and captain to rest before the shock of this tour against the All Blacks, scheduled for November 20.

Except words like “rest” Where “management” attached to the name of Antoine Dupont lend themselves to smile as the player is used, as much in club (8 games, 6 tenures since the start of the season), as in the French team. Since the arrival of Fabien Galthié at the head of the Blues in 2019 after the World Cup in Japan, the player trained in Auch (Gers) has started the 14 matches of the XV of France, still as a holder and playing on average nearly 73, 6 minutes. The last time Dupont came out so early in a game was against Italy in the Tournament on February 6.

All in all with the Blues, under the Galthié era, Dupont only missed the last summer tour in Australia. It was necessary to let the kid (24 years old) digest his titles of European champion and champion of France won at the end of an extended season with the Stade Toulousain.

Season during which he played 27 games, including 25 as a starter, and where he played on the field for almost 71 minutes on average per game. Monumental figures when we know that the teams always try to double, or even triple, the individuals on a position to alternate in particular the tenures and avoid burning their players.

These figures are all the more intriguing as Fabien Galthié and his staff quickly showed their desire to see as many players as possible, in a wide variety of situations, in order to be able to adapt to everything. In this sense, upon his arrival, the coach concluded an agreement between the National Rugby League and the French Rugby Federation allowing him to call 42 players against 31 previously, to prepare for the matches. In return, 14 players are sent back to the club every week if they are not retained on the match sheet.

If he still manages to ensure a certain continuity in his choices, the staff has shown by his actions not to be against the experiments. On the contrary, they almost characterize “the Galthié paw”. Among the latest to date, the association of forerunners Jalibert and Ntamack, the successful launches of Mohamed Haouas, Gabin Villière, Melvyn Jaminet or even Thibaud Flament. But also the use of hybrid profiles such as Woki, trained in the third row and tested in the second row, or Jelonch, used to the third row wing established in the third row center, among others.

There is no question here of questioning the immense talent of Antoine Dupont, whom many observers consider to be “one of the best 9 in the world”, “at least in the Top 3”. His vista, his safe, his science of support to offer a possibility of passing to his teammates – which earned him the nickname of Minister of the Interior – his shattering support, his self-sacrifice in defense, are all qualities, which can only be justify the special status offered to the Toulouse scrum half by the staff of the XV of France.

Nevertheless, it would be keeping blinders on to say that he alone knows no limits and that he has never shown signs of fatigue. The latter sometimes weighed on the game of the Blues at the end of the match and accelerated the stampede. In a position such as that of scrum half, where you are the custodian of your team’s play, being able to rely on a double and on your lucidity at the end of the game is essential. And Dupont, in the French team as in Toulouse – where it is all the more true since the departure of Sébastien Bézy towards Clermont – holds the barracks in quasi-solitary.

“We train all season to be able to play a game. Two years ago, I was complaining that I wasn’t playing enough so I’m not going to complain.”

Antoine Dupont, scrum half and captain of the XV of France

at a press conference before the match against Georgia

However, it is not as if French rugby, which boasts – rightly – of its wealth at the position of number 9, did not have profiles to replace it. If you are looking for another Antoine Dupont, you will not find one. But players capable of managing the end of the match, of taking over at the hour of play, by putting their heads in the place of a pack sometimes inside, while offering a saving foot game, there are To.

The Toulonnais, Baptiste Serin, currently injured, has long held the rope. Deprived of touring Australia because of his injury, the one who was tipped to be captain there will not have many opportunities to reaffirm his place in the hierarchy. Especially since players like Lyonnais Baptiste Couilloud or, quite recently, Bordelo-Béglais Maxime Lucu are also interesting options for the XV of France.

Even Antoine Dupont, as wonderful as he is, is not immune to poor performance or injury. He has also already been seriously affected with the XV of France, making the crusaders against Ireland in February 2018. Difficult, not to say impossible, to imagine the Blues going for the world title at home, in 2023, without a liner, or even a third option. As it is just as complicated to imagine that Antoine Dupont will not start on Saturday against the New Zealanders.