The French sevens rugby team and its new star, Antoine Dupont, won the world circuit tournament in Los Angeles on Sunday. Here they are perfectly launched towards their Olympic goal (July 26 – August 11). In the cool of the Los Angeles Galaxy stadium, the Blues showed their mastery to stifle Great Britain (21-0) in the final.
“I’m just super happy, proud of the team,” declared the Stade Toulouse scrum-half. This is only my second tournament I know they (his teammates) have been working for a while. There have been finals, but there had not yet been the title (Editor’s note: since 2005 and the Paris tournament) This validates the work that has been done and allows us to gain confidence as the deadlines approach. arrive. »
Dupont does not regret having skipped the Six Nations Tournament. “We are a very ambitious group who want to give ourselves the means to win this medal this summer. We are all in this perspective to work hard. We want to do something big, he says. By committing to this Olympic project, it was to get a medal, obviously of this color (gold), I knew that the guys were capable of it. They have been progressing for several seasons and above all, when they are at their best, they are capable of beating all the teams, I knew there was this potential. »
“My role is just team player”
Faithful to his modest nature, the best player in the world at XV wanted to minimize the “Dupont” effect in the French success.
“My role is just to be a team player,” he insists. I’m still learning, I’m not going to make big speeches when it’s only my second tournament with them. Maybe people will say it, but it’s more a combination of circumstances. Last year, they finished fourth all year, I wasn’t there, that’s because they are capable. In Perth, they put 30 points on the Blacks in group play, so they are capable of beating any team but also of being good over time, consistent. »
The 7-a-side “beginner” took stock of his first two tournaments in this specialty: “What I didn’t know was how to string two tournaments together, especially yesterday (Saturday) with three matches, getting up at 6 a.m. and returning at 9:30 p.m. These are very stiff days. I was able to test myself in all conditions, play very big matches, have playing time, now I will have a good week to rest. »
He admits to having suffered, but also to having had a lot of fun: “The quarter and a half were very hard. In the semi-final, I had two sprints in the first two actions which made my first half complicated (laughs). That’s also the VII, this sport is incredible, the physical capacity has enormous weight, but also this ability to not give up. »
Finally, Dupont lifted part of the veil on the rest of his preparation: “As I had done since the end of the World Cup until my first internship with them. I have a weekly discussion with Jérôme Daret and the physical trainer to get supplements and stay in the rhythm. I will also have an internship period with them before Madrid, a full week. Now I have a lot more automatisms and reflexes, it will be much easier. »
