France rugby captain Antoine Dupont defied critics to miss the Six Nations tournament and focus on making the Olympic Sevens team.
The presence of the mini-man mountain has thrown in a delicious curveball to a tournament Dupont likened to sport’s Holy Grail.
Dupont has established himself as one of the best players rugby union has ever seen and his presence at a home Olympics is a massive coup not just for the national team, but also the organisers.
His gamble of missing the Six Nations helped France to two wins on the World Rugby Sevens Series, including victory in the Madrid finals — a first in 19 years.
In between, he skippered his club Toulouse to Top 14 and Champions Cup glory in the 15-a-side code.
“For any sports fan, the Olympics are still mythical, the Holy Grail of sport. Hosting this event in France will be an incredible celebration and to be in with a chance of winning an Olympic medal is a highly motivating challenge,” Dupont said.
His absence from last season’s Six Nations did not sit right with many France fans, still in shock at the team’s quarter-final exit from the Rugby World Cup on French soil. But for all the criticism, his absence, and Olympic presence, has been a long time coming.
“Antoine’s idea of playing in the Olympics has been in the works for two years,” France coach Fabien Galthie said in defence of the 2021 World Player of the Year.
Rugby Sevens is often seen as 15-a-side rugby’s poor cousin, but Dupont denied that was the case.
“It’s just as enjoyable and when you see how difficult it is to play these matches, these tournaments with the physical wear and tear of the third day, the emotions are heightened, too,” he said.
“Sharing that with a smaller squad is also enjoyable. There are no cliques, everyone shares the emotions together and these are very strong moments.”
Dupont admitted that his involvement in the sevens team “gave confidence to everybody”.
