‘Genius’ Antoine Dupont gives verdict on his one-month-old Toulouse comeback that left Ronan O’Gara ruing ‘unforgivable’ La Rochelle hammering
Antoine Dupont, main pic, was irresistible in Toulouse's Sunday night hammering of Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle
French star Antoine Dupont rounded off 2025 with a virtuoso performance in Toulouse’s Top 14 demolition of Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle.
The fit-again scrum-half scored two of his team’s nine tries in their 60-14 hammering of the Irishman’s struggling side.
The December 28 fixture was Dupont’s fifth comeback appearance since rupturing his ACL on national duty with France in last March’s Six Nations win in Ireland – but it was his first start in the Top 14 since returning to the field with a November 29 run off the bench versus Racing 92.
Dupont ran La Rochelle ragged with a box of tricks and Toulouse had seven tries in the bag by the time of his departure around the hour mark.
The one-sided victory restored his team to top spot in the Top 14 ahead of a new year that will begin with a trip to the relegation-threatened Perpignan next Saturday before Investec Champions Cup assignments against English duo Saracens and Sale.
“Honestly, I feel like I did before…”
Dupont has now spoken about his rapid return to top form since his injury comeback, telling reporters on Sunday night in Toulouse that he didn’t expect to be at the level he is so soon.
“If you’d asked me halfway through my rehab, I would have said no,” he said. “But then, when I started getting back on the pitch, I felt that the rugby and the connection with the guys around me came back very quickly.
“I still had some work to do on my athletic abilities, but those came back pretty fast too. With a bit of work, of course… I won’t lie, it didn’t come back on its own. In any case, I put myself in the best possible conditions to come back.
“I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard and for so long in my life. I wasn’t going to come back half-heartedly. So, I’m happy today to see that it all paid off.
“Honestly, I feel like I did before. I have no discomfort, and I got back to my rugby form pretty quickly. I had some apprehensions at first, which is normal after an injury like this, but I regained all my abilities quickly. Now, I have no more excuses for the future, at least. If things continue like this, I hope my knee will hold up.”
While Dupont was beaming with the performance Toulouse produced, opposition coach O’Gara was left bruised by another disappointing La Rochelle outing. “I feel like we’re playing different sports,” he quipped.
“Well done to Toulouse for their timing, their precision, their aggression. It’s a top performance from a top team. Maybe the best club team in the world. It’s hard to know where we stand after a night like that. We need to reflect on Monday and Tuesday to play a better match against Toulon.
“I saw Antoine Dupont in great form. He’s a genius at scrum-half, but giving him tries is too easy. It’s difficult to chase down Toulouse, and we certainly helped their fury. We contributed to the Stade Toulousain celebration.
“We’re not even close to them,” he added. “They are a team that plays with speed, precision, confidence and enjoyment. When I watch Toulouse on television, I get the impression they always play like that.
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“You have to appreciate the best, and they are the best right now. Every player on this team is good. To be honest, I just experienced the biggest defeat of my coaching career here. And I am quite a proud man.
“Even though they’re a top-class team, we really helped them. It wasn’t us. That’s unforgivable in top-level sport. There are still some interesting things to learn, though. Are we capable of retaining them and applying them? That’s the real question.”
The loss was La Rochelle’s sixth in seven away games this season and following next Sunday’s hosting of Toulon in the league, their next away-day will be on January 10 in the Champions Cup at Leinster, a team that will have no sympathy for them after they were the beaten side when the teams met in the 2022 and 2023 finals in Marseille and Dublin.
