Antoine Dupont’s selfless act revealed after ‘ruining’ Ulster boss’ night

Antoine Dupont may be one of the biggest stars in rugby union but the outstanding France captain still goes above and beyond for the fans.

That is according to Ulster head coach Dan McFarland, who praised the humble scrum-half ahead of their Champions Cup clash with Toulouse this weekend.

Dupont is set to play one of his final games for Les Rouge et Noir before he joins up with the French sevens side.

Ugo Mola’s men will be looking to go three from three in the competition and secure their place in the next round.

Last time they met

Dupont will no doubt be key to their chances, like he was two years ago when Toulouse overturned a 26-20 first leg deficit against Ulster to defeat the province in a last-16 encounter.

The France linchpin was outstanding as they claimed a 30-23 triumph over McFarland’s outfit at the Kingspan Stadium to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Ulster’s head coach was hugely impressed by Dupont’s performance on the field but also tipped his hat to the scrum-half for his approach off it.

“He [Dupont] ruined our night more or less on his own with a brilliant display of kicking and a couple of breaks that led to tries,” the 51-year-old said.

“I leave the stadium pretty late obviously because I’m chatting with people I’ve got to chat to and he was still signing autographs for young Ulster supporters.

“He could have packed his bag and gone straight back to the team hotel. That’s awesome.”

One Ulster player who could be charged with stopping Dupont is talented flanker Sean Reffell, who is available after recovering from injury.

Impressive return after long lay-off

Reffell had been out of action for almost a year before he made his return in a victory over Connacht in the United Rugby Championship.

He followed that up by starring in the historic triumph over Leinster and may well be crucial this weekend against Toulouse.

“It will have been so frustrating for him not to be out there but he’s a head-down, work-hard guy,” McFarland said.

“There are lots of things you can achieve when you are injured and he’s gone about that diligently.

“He’s come back and I wasn’t afraid at all of throwing him back in as soon as he was ready, and he was magnificent in both games.

“There are some players when they get on the pitch, they just don’t hold back. It’s everything.

“You are almost having to drag them off the pitch at the end because they are so exhausted. They have spent absolutely everything. He’s one of those players.”

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