England legend’s ‘have no doubt’ Antoine Dupont assessment and his verdict on emerging ‘little crop of English nines’
Ben Youngs ran his eye over Toulouse's Antoine Dupont and Saracens's Charlie Bracken, inset, last weekend (INPHO/Tom Maher)
Ben Youngs, the legendary former England scrum-half, has shared her verdict on Antoine Dupont’s comeback trail form following his latest ACL injury.
The French No.9 suffered another serious knee injury when playing for his country in their Dublin win over Ireland last March in the Six Nations. He returned to the field last month with Toulouse and has featured in six matches so far, three as a starter.
Two of Dupont’s starts have come in his club’s back-to-back Investec Champions Cup defeats on 4G pitches in the UK where he has worn skins to give himself an extra layer of protection.
Beaten in Glasgow in December, Toulouse again lost last Sunday at Saracens, leaving them fourth in their pool and needing a win at home to Sale next Saturday to avoid a shock elimination.
Huge expectation
Youngs, the England record men’s caps holder, was at the StoneX Stadium to see Dupont struggle in his team’s 20-14, bad weather defeat to Saracens. With less than three weeks to go before France begin their Six Nations title defence with a February 5 match at home to Ireland, Dupont’s inconsistency has ignited concerns, but Youngs does not doubt that the 29-year-old will soon come good.
“I never wore skins when I played, but if there is a man who can pull it off, it is Antoine Dupont,” said the For The Love Of Rugby co-host in his latest Planet Rugby Champions Cup column.
“What you are seeing with him is huge expectation, but you have also got to remember he was out for nine months, and it wasn’t the first time he had done his ACL; it was his second.
“He is just returning and showing glimpses of form in the Top 14. We are still waiting for it in Europe, but it will come. He is the world’s best nine and it’s just a matter of getting a few more games, having a bit more consistency, and he will be absolutely flying. I have no doubt.
“What is going on is just the effects of having a long-term injury and coming back. It was also playing on a 4G pitch at Saracens and Glasgow. In the back of your mind, you are probably a bit more wary of your knee on surfaces like that, so all those things came into play.”
Youngs added that Toulouse, the six-time Champions Cup winners, will progress to the Round of 16 despite the prospect of starting their match versus Sale outside the qualifying spots if Sharks defeat Clermont in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.
“It seems unimaginable that Toulouse could be in this situation where they don’t get out of Pool 1; it would be absolutely bonkers if that happened. However, with Sale Sharks having already qualified, I can only see Toulouse turning up the heat at home and beating Alex Sanderson’s side.”
Aside from running his eye over Dupont last Sunday, Youngs also got to see rookie English No.9 Charlie Bracken come off the Saracens bench. This was a few hours after he had been at Harlequins, where Lucas Friday, another promising youngster, started. Youngs liked what he saw from both players.
“I was at StoneX Stadium and Twickenham Stoop last Sunday and enjoyed what I saw at scrum-half from the home teams. When you look at Saracens sub Charlie Bracken and Lucas Friday, who started for Harlequins, you are beginning to see the next crop of young England nines coming through.
“There was also Archie McParland, who played off the Northampton Saints bench in France, so there is a real sort of little crop of nines all coming through. The more games you see them play, the better they will become.
“Given the conditions Bracken was dealing with, he kicked particularly well for Saracens. His core skills were very impressive and he is someone to look out for. Friday was also very impressive.”
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