Although the signals were converging, we felt a little excitement in the press room when the white smoke appeared, at precisely 11:36 a.m. on Friday morning. By appearing before the media for the press conference announcing the lineup, Antoine Dupont lifted for good the semblance of suspense that remained regarding his participation in the quarter-final of the World Cup against South Africa , Sunday.
Here we are, therefore, at this long-awaited and somewhat feared return, too, it must be said. The idea of presenting yourself a little more than three weeks after such a blow to the head which led to a fracture for a meeting as intense as the one that is coming is enough to raise an eyebrow. But not that of the main person concerned, apparently. “I feel very good, both physically and emotionally,” he assures. I resumed very gradually, it was important for me to validate all the steps to be sure of my move. Today, I am at full capacity. »
Beyond the purely medical aspect, easy to read for the surgeon, the main question in this type of case concerns the player’s apprehension to resume. No one can feel that in their place. The fear of contact, or even the potential for contact when the traffic gets a little dense at the heart of the game, is no warning. But the only anxiety admitted by the French captain was that of having to abandon his friends.
At the time, I thought that my competition was over, I had to wait for the operation to find hope, he says. Then for the contacts, it happened little by little. I started at the end of last week, slowly, then a little more, and this week I was able to resume group training and find contact situations which allowed me to remove my apprehension. I never had any pain, so that reassured me. »
So much for Dupont’s feelings. Now, what will happen on the pitch on Sunday? The idea of targeting by the Springboks has been mentioned all this week. Realistic or not? We cast a wide net to try to find out.
- From a South African perspective > Us? Nooooo, you don’t think about it
Daan Human, Scrum Coach: “We will never focus on a single player, but on a system and a collective. Focusing on a single player is the best way to get screwed by the one behind him. We will remain faithful to our system and to what we have always done. »
- From the French point of view > They will have other things to do
Laurent Labit, attack coach: “If Antoine is on the field on Sunday, it is because he is at 100% of his capacities, mental and physical. And when he’s at 100%, it’s very difficult to do an individual on him. He will be a player like the others, an important player for us, and they know it, but they will have others to watch. »
- From a former player’s point of view > Maybe a little bit anyway
Kevin Gourdon, ex-third row, 19 caps with the Blues: “It’s a combat sport. If you’re in the octagon and your opponent has a knee strap, obviously you’re going to press where it hurts. There is no gift at the highest level, and it is not their fault that Dupont suffered this fracture. He’s already a usual target, but maybe a little more, yes. But not aiming for the face, obviously. You can press a little harder on a tackle when he kicks out of the ruck, or when you chase him. There are plenty of ways in the rules to try to weaken it a little, to lessen its influence. »
- From the perspective of a former referee > Move around
Joël Dumé, former international referee: “There is no player who is more to watch than another. It’s a story of consistency. Ben O’Keeffe will have analyzed the two teams well, he knows how they play. »
- From an anthropological perspective: The usual fare
Julien Migozzi, researcher at the University of Oxford and specialist in South Africa: “They’re not going to question whether he’s hurt somewhere or not. If it needs to be dry-plated, it will be. There will be no privileges, but no preferential treatment either, it will be the same as they apply to all the big players. Are South Africans sadists, no I don’t think so. But they are not Santa Clauses. »
In times of uncertainty, it is still better to prepare for all eventualities. For our part, we could imagine a close guard around the captain, with the colossi Jelonch, Alldritt and Ollivon to provide circulation. Prohibition for anyone wearing a green jersey to enter the area under penalty of immediate reprisals.
We risk being disappointed. A priori, the Blues have not filed a request for a removal injunction. “No, there will be no particular strategy,” says Charles Ollivon. Obviously we, in the third line, will have the mission to protect our hinge, and there will be a lot of work to do for that, but this will be the case for the 15. They are very strong everywhere, it will be a battle for the four corners of the field and it is collectively that we will get through it. We’ll all need the friend next door. »
“Think about the team before thinking about yourself”
Well, they weren’t going to serve the Boks everything on a platter either. “We’re going to save some for Sunday,” as Fabien Galthié said with a smile on Friday. In any case, one element in particular makes the French say that there will be no contract for their scrum half: the fear of the card. “We know that in rugby, if you hit the head it’s a red card. They won’t do anything,” Greg Alldritt wants to believe. As former whistleblower Joël Dumé pointed out, we can count on New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe to monitor all this closely.
Another option to protect Dupont as much as possible would consist of a forced move away from the main fighting areas at the heart of the game. An idea that does not come from nowhere, but from training sessions this week, where we could see him moving towards the wing during defensive phases. Another failure, if we listen to the players. “We’re not changing anything,” replies Matthieu Jalibert. Antoine is an important player in our defensive system, he will have the same role as in the first matches. We didn’t prepare anything special. »
Well, we were moderately convinced ourselves, to tell the truth. It would be bad to know the guy, never the last one when you have to put your hands in – and sometimes a little more. “I’m not going there with the brakes,” insists the person concerned. That was the main thing, thinking about the team before thinking about yourself. I didn’t feel any pressure if I hadn’t been able to go Maxime [Lucu] and Baptiste [Couilloud] were there to replace me. » As for the pain, it will be there, no more and no less than usual. “There are always some in this type of match. We know that it will be very hard from start to finish, and if we are not ready for that, we will not be able to go where we aim. » Even with his helmet on, the boss did not lose sight of his path.