Thomas Castaignede: 'We have never seen anyone like Antoine Dupont before'

Former French star Thomas Castaignede has no hesitation in describing Antoine Dupont as the sport’s most complete rugby player and believes “we have never seen anyone like him before in world rugby.”

Captain Dupont has returned to the French squad after surgery on the cheekbone fracture he suffered against Namibia and is being carefully monitored with the increasing belief he could play a part in the quarter-finals.

Like the rest of France, Castaignede, who won 54 caps, is hoping the surgery, and a possible mask Dupont could wear, will allow him to return to action and he told RugbyPass: “Antoine is such a complete player and we have never seen anyone like him before in world rugby. He is really incredible. He doesn’t care if he is playing against New Zealand or Namibia - he does his job as best as he can.

“Antoine has the biggest impact on the team mentally and while he is a man of few words, every one of them has such a big meaning behind it. Playing at Antoine’s level, he brings so much confidence to the team. I just hope he can play as soon as possible even though we have some very good No9s behind him.”

Despite emphasising the mercurial scrum-half’s talents, Castaignede still believes France can win the Rugby World Cup even if Dupont fails to fully overcome the effects of the injury. Castaignede is quick to point out that France have another outstanding No9 in Bordeaux’s Maxime Lucu, who the former Saracens star believes would walk into any other international team at the World Cup. “I am pretty sure we can win the World Cup if Antoine cannot play because we have Lucu who is someone who can cope and is a really hard worker.

“He is fantastic player who would play in all the other teams of the world. He could play for England very easily and can deal with the pressure and deliver.”

Castaignede has a unique view of the France team that is trying to win the Rugby World Cup for the first time, insisting it should be seen as containing “13 back row forwards, the best kicker in the world (Thomas Ramos) and the best player in the world (Dupont).”

Despite his unusual description of the French XV, Castaignede is adamant the current French side is “probably the best team ever" to wear the national colours. “If you play prop Cyril Baille in the centre or lock Thibaud Flament on the wing and Damian Penaud in the back row then there is no difference.

“All of these players can move to different positions and be effective. Even Uini Atonio in the front row moves quite well and that is why this French team is one of the best ever."

While the national team gets plenty of plaudits, Castaignede is not impressed with the lengthy format of the pool section of the Rugby World Cup which sees France playing Italy on Friday having beaten Namibia 96-0 on September 21. He says it is “way too long” with teams having to deal with long gaps between matches although one benefit of this situation is that Dupont has more time to recover. Despite this “plus”, Castaignede is not a fan of the extended gaps adding: “This competition is way too long and doesn’t happen in football.

“France had the perfect start against New Zealand with such a fantastic game that seems such a long time ago now. The players have had to wait to play the big games and have to cope with all that time which must be very frustrating.

“It is not so often you see the kind of injury Antoine has suffered and the intensity of the game is tough that it can create some issues. The question is should he have played after the first half against Namibia? It didn’t make any difference (to the result) if he played in the second half.

“The French team is coping with the rules marvellously well and while we don’t play the most entertaining rugby, we adapt remarkably well. Fabien Galthie (France coach) wants to win this Cup by adapting on the field. We don’t want to be entertaining we just want to be effective."

Castaignede is urging French fans to temper their expectations due to the resurgence of the All Blacks in the tournament, the continuing power of the Springboks and Ireland’s position as the No1 ranked team. The former full back, who also played outside half at Test level, has special praise for Scotland: “I have really enjoyed watching Scotland at this World Cup and anything can happen in this tournament and you have seen England coming back after everyone thought their level was lower than other teams.

“For me Scotland are like the Welsh teams of the 1970s and they are so entertaining and creative. I love their rugby.”