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'What a shame': Dupont's masterclass leaves discontent over upcoming move

By Ben Smith
Antoine Dupont of Toulouse on his way to scoring his side's fourth try during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 2 Round 3 match between Ulster and Toulouse at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

A masterclass performance from France superstar Antoine Dupont has left a hollow feeling for some as the realisation he won't play in this year's Six Nations.

The Toulouse No 9 took apart Ulster in a genius performance as the French club piled on the points to race ahead 41-10 through three quarters of the match.

A clinical set-piece play by Toulouse opened proceedings after a ripper pass from Dupont to the midfield and a deft chip kick for left wing Matthis Lebel.

Dupont then offered an assist for Peato Mauvaka before scoring two himself as he clocked up 173 running metres with two line breaks.

The 27-year-old popped up everywhere, tormenting Ulster with his electric running game and vision. His offloads and support play created many chances and half-breaks for the visitors.

On a counter-attack in the backfield, Dupont was influential in setting up another try finding Lebel underneath with a switch play at the perfect time.

The stunning performance left some with discontent over his move to SVNS which will see him miss this year's Six Nations in preparation for the Olympics.

Dupont is expected to make his SVNS debut in Vancouver in February after attending camps in January with the national side.

France will attempt to make up for a disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign in 2023 without their star scrumhalf during the Six Nations.

Watch Dupont's masterclass against Ulster below

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fl 6 minutes ago

If Pollock is in the squad, who gets left out?


"I think the Eddie Jones style development player approach is whats called for"


(i) Why?

(ii) The churn of players under Eddie Jones was generally considered to be quite a bad thing. Do you want Guy Pepper, Ted Hill, Ben Curry, etc. to give up and go to France like Marchant did?

(iii) England already have a really young squad, and especially a young back row. If they do badly in the six nations Borthwick will probably lose his job, so shouldn't they prioritise winning in the short term and developing the players already in the squad, rather than bringing in newer, younger, guys?

(iv) England have a development tour in June. If you really want Pollock to be in the squad prior to graduating the u20s, why not wait until the summer?

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fl 14 minutes ago

When England's defence was able to get into shape it could be dominant though (especially in the game against NZ). Is the number of tackles really the main issue?


I get that making loads of tackles is tiring, but so is building multi-phase attacks. I'm just worried England would get tired out from attacking, then struggle to get set when they're subjected to counter attacks.

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