This Wednesday, in Ernest-Wallon, during his traditional back-to-school press conference, the president of Stade Toulousain Didier Lacroix mentioned the probable participation of the number 9 of the Blues and the red and black club Antoine Dupont in the Olympic rugby tournament. 7 of Paris 2024.
“Antoine, it’s been months since he mentioned the desire to play the Olympic Games,” he said. But there is no question of when it will be played. He knows it’s in 2024, but after that, whether it’s June, July or August, it’s not his problem. It’s a little more of a problem for the Stade Toulousain coach, for its president, for the LNR and for the France team. That’s why we defined very clearly the contours of what his presence at the Olympics could be. We have prepared everything, at all levels, we have forgotten nothing. But the main actor in this case, the trigger, is Antoine Dupont himself, which is normal. However, he does not want to reveal himself before the end of the World Cup. As a result, there is nothing done, nothing signed, nothing contractualized. Afterwards, depending on the timing of his decision, there will be a whole adaptation to be made, which will have an impact on the current season but also on the season after because there will be a recovery time to respect. »
“Of course there is a fear of the consequences”
Didier Lacroix, president of Stade Toulousain
The choice of Dupont will not be insignificant. Especially after the season he has just had and the one that is looming. “There is necessarily a little concern, admits Lacroix. Especially after a season of incredible intensity, a relatively weak break with only a fortnight or ten days of vacation for some, a sequence of heavy summer preparation and a World Cup where all the players will engage with all the enthusiasm that we are entitled to expect from them. Of course there is a fear of the consequences. Romain Ntamack is an example. I do not know if his injury (rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee) is to be attributed to the overload of work or to an accident. We’ll never know. The most pessimistic will attribute it to work overload, the most fatalistic to the accident. What is certain is that we will have to show a lot of adaptation because there will still be twists and turns. I just hope that there will above all be room for happiness that Antoine will take on the field and that he will be strong enough to be able to play these Olympics. »
