The scrum half and captain of the XV of France Antoine Dupont, operated on September 22 for a broken jaw, was authorized this Monday, October 9 to resume collective training, less than a week before the quarter-final of the World Cup against South Africa.
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“ Following his medical visit planned today (Monday, editor’s note) with the surgeon who previously operated on him, Antoine Dupont obtained authorization to resume rugby training from today », announced the French Federation (FFR), without providing any clue on its participation in next Sunday’s match against the reigning world champions. Dupont (26 years old, 51 caps) had an appointment in Toulouse (south) with Professor Frédéric Lauwers, specialist in maxillofacial surgery, for a medical examination which promised to be crucial.
Victim of a violent shock during the large group stage victory over Namibia (96-0) in Marseille on September 21, the captain of the Blues had surgery the next day in Toulouse, before returning ten days later to hardly its partners, for a recovery phase “ progressive » individually.
Six days before an incandescent meeting at the Stade de France, Professor Lauwers therefore authorized him to resume rugby with contacts, and consequently the training of the XV of France from Tuesday in Rueil-Malmaison, near Paris, the base camp of the Blues.
“ He worked hard physically: a lot of racing, a lot of speed, these are his strong points », Confided on Saturday Karim Ghezal, the co-coach of the Blues in charge of the conquest. “ In terms of everything physical, he didn’t lose much in a week of stopping, on the contrary. Physically, he is in great shape “.
Sunday holder
The Blues, who have already had to deal with the withdrawal of opener Romain Ntamack, victim of a ruptured cruciate knee ligament in mid-August, will therefore find their No.9, voted best player in the world in 2021.
However, there still remains a major question: will Dupont be on the Saint-Denis pitch on Sunday? And, before that, what will his attitude be during collective training on Tuesday and Wednesday?
Fabien Galthié and his management, who will announce their team on Friday, will decide whether their star player will be part of the starting XV depending on how he will handle this recovery mentally and physically.
In the absence of his playing master, the Blues were able to count on his usual understudy in the position of N.9, Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Bègles, 30 years old, 18 sel.), starter during the last group match in Lyon against Italy, won easily (60-7).
In a more sober style than Dupont, Lucu, associated at the hinge with his club teammate Matthieu Jalibert – who became N.1 at the opening after Ntamack’s package -, ensured and managed, quickly distributing the ball and making the right choices. He was then replaced in the 54th minute by the No.3 at the post, Lyonnais Baptiste Couilloud.
“The sense of duty and sacrifice »
The return, or not, of Dupont with the Blues was the occasion for a more general debate around the health of the players. “ Dupont’s decision to return, as a young man dreaming of leading his team to glory in a home World Cup, is written in advance », Commented on X (formerly Twitter) the group “Progressive Rugby”, which advocates better care of the health of rugby players. “ It is romanticism, desire, the sense of duty and sacrifice, the ego, which push high-level athletes to play at all costs “, further underlined the organization.
“ The choice to play or not must fall to the doctors and management, added the organization. Even if Dupont said he wanted to play, they could choose not to select him, feel that it is not in his interest, that it is perhaps not the best thing for French rugby “.
The president of the FFR, Florian Grill, for his part welcomed the “ resilience » of the player during his post-operative reintegration into the group, evoking a message “ just amazing “.
But the boss of French rugby also insisted on the health of the player: “ We have a sporting responsibility, but we also have a human responsibility. And that’s above everything “.