The French meet this Sunday at 2:08 p.m. local time (11:08 p.m. Paris time) for their semi-final against Ireland. Les Bleues are also in the game, they will play their quarter-final this Sunday at 10:14 a.m. (7:14 p.m. Paris time) against Canada.
For his second tournament with the French sevens rugby team, Antoine Dupont continues his express adaptation with some flashes of brillianceand the Blues have a string of victories in Los Angeles on the world circuit.
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After winning their first group match on Friday against Canada (24-7), the French dominated Great Britain (19-12) on Saturday morning then the United States in the evening in the quarter-finals (14-0). Iconic captain of the XV of France, Antoine Dupont joined the VII to compete in the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11).
After the tournament in Vancouver (Canada) last week, where the Blues finished third, he continued his apprenticeship in Los Angeles. Dupont is now a starter in major matches, and has achieved a wonderful day Saturdayby making his explosiveness speak for score a try during the quarterbefore managing the tempo of a game played for a long time in numerical inferiority (two yellow cards).
Against the British in the morninghe came on in the second half and delighted the crowd with a foot pass for a corner try from Nelson Epée, his partner from Stade Toulousain. “It doesn’t happen much here, even we in our system do very little kicking. When it works everyone says well done, but we must not miss it because afterwards, the counter can be fatal,” smiled Dupont (27) in the mixed zone. “Every time I am on the field I progress (…) I continue to learn, to nourish myself, each time I am on the field I analyze by discussing with the guys, I continue to familiarize myself with this sport.”
“Tame”
“Antoine we try to tame him, he always surprises us”greeted, amused, his teammate Stephen Parez. “He’s trying, it’s working, good for the team, we’ll always be behind him for any of his initiatives. It’s another string to our bow, plus he really knows how to do everything, he’s impressive, we try to rely on that to score tries more easily than usual.” The French meet on Sunday at 2:08 p.m. local time (11:08 p.m. Paris time) for their semi-final against Ireland.
What a race from Jade Ulutule! ?
The Blues beat the Irish with a score of 21-5 and are already qualified for the quarter-finals!#HSBCSVNSLAX pic.twitter.com/wJfcqzqoJc
— RugbyPass FR \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 (@RugbyPass_FR) March 2, 2024
The Blues also launched their tournament perfectly with a victory on Friday against Japan (35-7) then a success on Saturday over Ireland (21-5), before losing against Australia (17-14). They will dispute their quarter-final Sunday at 10:14 a.m. (7:14 p.m. Paris time) against Canada.
If the Dupont effect is perceptible on the pitch, it does not really infuse in the stands. Almost empty on Friday, the stands filled up painfully on Saturday as the rain fell on the Dignity Health Sports Park (south of the city), home of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer club. The name Dupont means nothing to most of the supporters, but makes the eyes of the few French people present, flag in hand, shine. “Dupont’s pass, fantastic, it’s really beautiful, only him can do that. When he came in it changed the face of the match”told AFP Pierre Duris, aged 58.