Aaron Smith ‘contacted’ by fellow All Blacks legend over stunning Toulouse switch as French giants seek Antoine Dupont cover

Toulouse are exploring the possibility of bringing in a ‘medical joker’ to cover Antoine Dupont’s absence, with Aaron Smith one of the names mentioned.

The 36-year-old is currently plying his trade in Japan with Toyota Verblitz, but Les Rouge et Noir reportedly looked at bringing him over to France.

Fellow All Blacks legend Jerome Kaino, who is now on Toulouse’s backroom team, reputedly made an enquiry by contacting Smith about potentially joining the club following Dupont’s ACL injury.

However, according to Midi Olympique, there may be too many stumbling blocks for a deal to go through.

What the issues are

It is understood that it would be ‘impossible’ for Smith to be released from his contract in Japan, while the ex-New Zealand star could be too costly given the French side’s salary cap restrictions.

Toulouse have other scrum-halves to cover Dupont’s spell on the sidelines, with Paul Graou and Japan international Naoto Saito both in their ranks, but Smith would be a statement addition.

The former All Blacks playmaker is also a big fan of the France superstar and, although they would not have played alongside each other, he would have relished bouncing ideas off the 28-year-old.

Smith has regularly praised the French icon over the years and believes that he has taken scrum-half play to another level.

“He’s still young… And when it’s all said and done, he will be one of the greatest to play our game,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, last July.

“He’s already probably the greatest of this generation. He has changed rugby. He’s not just a halfback; he is pure class.”

Before that, Smith also wrote on social media: “This guy is on another level! No one is near him atm. He’s the point of difference for both his club and country. He’s helping me look at parts of my game to improve.”

👉 Aaron Smith: ‘Antoine Dupont will be one of the greatest to play our game… he has changed rugby’

Smith was similarly asked about Dupont ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup opener between Les Bleus and the All Blacks when the two scrum-halves went head-to-head.

“Antoine Dupont is an amazing athlete and player,” he said. “He has proved in the last few years, when he’s been receiving awards, that he’s a key figurehead.

“From everything I have seen of him, he has taken it all in his stride. The bigger the stage, he usually stands up.”

Toulouse’s other options

With Smith likely to be unavailable, Toulouse could well look elsewhere to replace Dupont with a couple of other names being linked.

According to Midi Olympique, they have already ‘sounded out’ former Montpellier, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels playmaker Ryan Louwrens.

A deal for Louwrens seems more likely than bringing in Wallabies international Jake Gordon, who was reportedly offered to the French giants. Gordon is currently playing for the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific and there would be too many complications in getting him to switch mid-season.

“For the moment, nothing has been decided. All possibilities are being discussed. Obviously, the question of taking a medical joker after Antoine’s injury has arisen,” backs coach Clement Poitrenaud said.

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