Olympian Corey Toole praises Antoine Dupont for ‘impressive’ sevens stint

Wallabies squad member and Paris 2024 Olympian Corey Toole has praised Antoine Dupont for his “impressive” stint in rugby sevens, which saw the Frenchman claim gold at the Games just two months after winning the SVNS Series.

Dupont was quite brilliant in rugby’s shorter format since making the switch in time for SVNS Series legs in Vancouver and Los Angeles earlier this year. But the 27-year-old saved his best performance for last, with about 70,000 fans watching on in Saint-Denis.

With a record crowd for a rugby sevens event watching on at Stade de France on July 27, Dupont didn’t just add impact after coming off the bench in the gold medal match but changed the course of history against two-time defending champions Fiji.

Aaron Grandidier Nkanang scored earlier in the second half after Dupont ran down the left touchline to send the try scorer over, but then it was the code-hopper's time to shine with two tries in the 28-7 win – including one from a driving maul.

What Dupont achieved in rugby sevens is fascinating, unrivalled and almost beyond belief. The one-time World Rugby 15s Player of the Year has been labelled rugby union’s ‘GOAT’ by some fans and pundits as they continue to process what happened at the Games.

Corey Toole, who starred for the ACT Brumbies before switching to sevens before the Games, has since been included in a Wallabies squad for the first time. The speedster was asked about Dupont and he couldn’t have spoken more highly of the Olympic gold medallist.

“It’s quite impressive. That France team hasn’t been too good over the last few years and when he joined their team, he definitely added a lot,” Toole told reporters on Tuesday.

“You can see obviously their results, they won the (SVNS) Series and the Olympics. It’s quite impressive.

“That can have such an impact on their team and yeah, he’s a pretty good athlete that’s for sure.”

Dupont played three SVNS Series events this year and helped France win two of them, which included the Grand Final event in Madrid. That championship event fell just one week after Dupont’s standout display in Toulouse’s win over Leinster in the Champions Cup Final.

For Dupont to jump codes like that and perform at such an outstanding level has drawn widespread praise from members of the rugby community. It’s not easy to do, as Toole is experiencing right now.

After Australia’s Olympic campaign, which saw the men finish fourth, Toole received a call from coach Joe Schmidt before flying back home. Schmidt wanted Toole in the Wallabies' squad to take on a formidable foe in the world champion Springboks.

Toole, 24, flew back from France on Thursday afternoon, landed in Canberra on Friday afternoon, and was on the way to Brisbane the next day. It’s been a wild few days for the winger, who is one of six uncapped players in the squad.

“He was pretty keen for me to go over there. Obviously, the Olympics is a massive event and as you saw, each day got sold out, not only the guys but the girls too,” Toole said when asked about the Olympic experience.

“It was a bit of a shock running out on day one, we’re the first game. Usually playing in front of one or 2000 fans but quite surprising playing in front of a packed stadium game one.

“It’s an unreal experience and I’m glad I was a part of it.

“No, I was never quite too sure,” he added in response to a question about whether it was always the plan to come into the Wallabies squad after the Games.

“I was in the airport on the way back home when Joe gave me that call. (But) I was never too sure (if I was going to be selected).

“It probably made the flight home a bit more enjoyable and I could look forward to something. Just very excited to get back amongst the training the join the boys.”

Australia will host two-time defending men's Rugby World Cup champions South Africa in two Tests as part of The Rugby Championship. The first Test at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium will be held on Saturday afternoon, with the next match at Perth's Optus Stadium scheduled for August 17.