Antoine Dupont in line for a first in the Men’s game following World Rugby awards nomination
Split with Portia Woodman and Antoine Dupont.
Les Bleus skipper Antoine Dupont could follow in the footsteps of New Zealand’s Portia Woodman after being named as a nominee for the World Rugby Men’s 7s Player of the Year.
Should Dupont win the award he will become the first male player to have claimed the Player of the Year title for both 15s and 7s. Woodman is the only player in history to have won the rare double.
Outstanding season
Dupont enjoyed a splendid switch to the shorter code of the game and only took two tournaments to secure his first title with France. What followed was winning the overall series after success at the Madrid finals where he was also named rookie of the year.
The talented Frenchman made the switch to sevens with the Olympic Games in mind and by the time the esteemed sports event arrived Dupont was well equipped for the shorter form of the game and had grown into a bench role quite nicely for Les Bleus.
In typical Dupont fashion, he contributed throughout the tournament with his most notable intervention coming in the Olympic final, setting up one try and scoring two in the second half to win Gold in front of a full Stade de France in Paris.
Antoine Dupont, running the show.
In an Olympic Gold Medal match.
In a sport he’s played for less than six months. #Olympics #RugbySevens https://t.co/k5IXLICtAa
— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) July 27, 2024
It was the culmination of a lot of effort and training from the Frenchman who easily completed the most successful transitions from 15s to 7s that we have seen in a very long time.
Dupont has a good chance at winning the award with teammate Aaron Grandidier Nkanang and Terry Kennedy of Ireland the other nominees.
The award completes an epic year for Dupont where in the midst of switching between codes he still managed to lead Toulouse to a double, claiming Top 14 and Champions Cup titles along the way.
The awards take place in Monaco this Sunday, November 24 and Dupont will have Friday’s Test against Argentina to focus on before he gets excited about the prospect of winning the double.
READ MORE: World Rugby Awards: Springboks dominate nominations, Antoine Dupont up for top gong
