Antoine Dupont to miss Nations Championship after late withdrawal from Fabien Galthié’s squad
Antoine Dupont in action for France in the 2026 Six Nations and, inset, lifting the Top 14 trophy last Saturday with Jack Willis, his Toulouse teammate
Antoine Dupont has pulled out of the France squad for the upcoming Nations Championship in the southern hemisphere.
Dupont was set to fly to Australia on Monday and prepare in Brisbane for his country’s round two match on July 11 versus the Wallabies.
The scrum-half was one of nine Toulouse and Montpellier players added to Fabien Galthié’s squad following last Saturday’s Top 14 final in Paris between the clubs.
None of the nine were available for selection for this Saturday’s tournament opener in Christchurch versus New Zealand, which was why they were instead flying to Australia to prepare for the round two fixture.
However, that trip will now be made without Dupont on board as a calf strain sustained in the match at the Stade de France has resulted in the No.9 pulling out and his place in the tour squad has gone to Paul Graou, his uncapped Toulouse clubmate.
“Antoine Dupont has ultimately withdrawn…”
Dupont started Saturday’s final and scored a first-half try in his team’s 28-20 victory, which clinched their fourth Top 14 title in a row. He was replaced in the match by Graou in the 64th minute but returned 11 minutes later to replace Romain Ntamack.
With the final won, Dupont was one of six Toulouse players added to Galthié’s French squad, joining Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Alexandre Roumat, Ntamack and Kalvin Gourgues.
Montpellier’s Florian Verhaeghe, Lenni Nouchi and Auguste Cadot were also included, but Dupont now won’t be on the flight to Australia. Aside from missing out on the match against the Wallabies, he will also be absent from the round three game versus Japan in Tokyo on July 18.
A French union statement read: “Having won the French championship with Stade Toulousain this weekend, Antoine Dupont will miss the Nations Championship.
“Paul Graou has been added to the list of nine players who have joined the French national team. Initially called up to join the French national team squad in Brisbane for the Nations Championship along with eight other finalists, Dupont has ultimately withdrawn. He is replaced by Graou, his teammate at Stade Toulousain.”
Galthié had flown to New Zealand with a 33-man squad that included Bordeaux’s Maxime Lucu and La Rochelle’s Nolann Le Garrec at scrum-half, but Dupont was pencilled in to join them in Australia in what would have been his first participation in an end-of-season tour since the 2017 trip to South Africa.
In charge since 2020, Galthié’s policy had been to rest Dupont for France’s July tours, but the half-back was reportedly keen to take part in the new Nations Championship.
Having shaken off an adductor problem, the 29-year-old’s form when helping Toulouse to their latest title in the end-of-season play-offs was promising, but he now won’t have any involvement in the Test matches.
