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Jerome Kaino says All Blacks are facing 'Dan Carter' level talent with Dupont
By Ben Smith
When the All Blacks face France in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, it will be the third time that they will see 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year Antoine Dupont on the pitch.
In 2017 the young scrumhalf made his first start for France against New Zealand as a 20-year-old, and although they lost 38-18, Dupont was exceptional with his running game.
The next time Dupont faced the All Blacks was in 2021 where his France side stunned Ian Foster's team with a 40-25 win.
Ex-All Black No 6 Jerome Kaino is very familiar with Dupont and Romain Ntamack after playing along side the pair for years at Toulouse in the Top 14.
The 2015 World Cup winner compared the No 9 to one of the all-time greats, saying that Dupont is like Dan Carter in how he thinks and plays the game.
"When we talk about Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, DC comes to mind," Kaino told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
"The way they operate, they way they think about the game, how professional they are.
"I immediately think 'Dan Carter' in terms of the mannerisms, what they do."
Since the last World Cup, Dupont has become the world's best player which has brought with it extra attention on the pitch.
Kaino warned that targeting the scrumhalf could backfire as he 'loves' the challenge and has a way of figuring out how to deal with it.
He has watched first hand as teams in the Top 14 have gone after him with limited success.
"When he plays for us [Toulouse], everyone is trying to target him," Kaino said.
"He's obviously the link between forwards and backs but probably the key to our game.
"The way he adjusts, the way he adapts, it's incredible.
"When I watch him play, he loves pressure, he loves people targeting him. He will always find a way to adapt to whatever comes his way.
"If he keeps going the way he is, he could go down as one of the best.
"For his size, he's really physical, he loves the contact. He's quite abrasive but his skills, if you've seen him play, he's got box kicks off left and right, fend with both hands."
Kaino believed that France would be able to handle the loss of Ntamack, who suffered an ACL injury in the warm-up fixture with Scotland.
The former All Black gave some advice on how to stop France, the focus should not be on Dupont but on the pack in front of him.
"I think French rugby have built a good pool of players over the last couple of years.
"Any position they've got depth. Whoever fills in for Romain, I'm sure they will try keep similar cohesion, connection.
"For us, on the All Blacks side, the key is up front.
"Their forwards love pick and go, love mauls, I think for us, we saw that match in 2021 and that's where it all started for their momentum. Up front.
"If we are able to do that, it makes it a bit harder for Antoine and whoever is at 10."
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Latest Comments
There are very few NH people here and very few of them complain about refs so what you are saying there is not true. You can see that over the weekend a narrative has arisen where many SH folk are maintaining that Argentina were robbed in Dublin and that NZ were robbed in France. It's utter nonsense.
I am not saying England were robbed. I am saying that 10 times out of 10 a penalty for cynically bringing down a maul in your own 22 is yellow. Brace mentioned the existing yellow and only awarded a penalty. That was unfair on England.
Go to commentsMy takeaway from the game was that Ireland are a team in decline.
It's a very old squad, and you wonder how long the likes of JGP, Lowe, Aki, Murray, Henshaw, Ringrose, Healy - all players in their early to mid 30's will be able to continue to perform.
When you have a 35-year-old in Murray replacing JGP for the AB game is very telling and that a 37 Cian Healy is still playing at this level, which means as he only plays limited minutes running down World Class talent Porter into the ground.
That Argentina was able to chase Ireland down and be in a position to draw or win in the last play of the game was telling. A couple of years ago, Argentina would have been blown off the park but now...
So yip, I think by the 2027 WC Ireland will very much have fallen back into the pack - will still have a great pack but will not be among the favourites for the WC.
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