WATCH: Antoine Dupont’s ‘COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS’ final game before Sevens switch

Jared Wright
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France and Toulouse star scrum-half Antoine Dupont during the Top 14 clash against Bayonne.

France and Toulouse star scrum-half Antoine Dupont during the Top 14 clash against Bayonne.

Antoine Dupont has been starring for Toulouse after taking a break from the France national side to represent the sevens team at the Olympic Games.

In his final game before linking up with the France sevens squad, Dupont inspired Toulouse to a 46-26 victory over Bayonne, producing a mind-blowing individual performance.

The 27-year-old finished the match with four try involvements, scoring one himself and assisting a further three, while beating four defenders and making three clean breaks on his way to 149 running metres.

Last game before sevens switch

While Dupont usually plays scrum-half for club and country, Romain Ntamack’s injury, coupled with Blair Kinghorn and Thomas Ramos’s Six Nations calls, meant that he started the Top 14 clash against Bayonne at fly-half.

However, that did not stop him from having a huge influence on the match as Toulouse ran in seven tries to Bayonne’s four.

He linked with Pita Ahki to set up the first try of the game for Setareki Bituniyata before getting on the scoreboard himself. Dupont scooped up a loose offload from Ahki near the Bayonne 10-metre line and weaved his way through the traffic to score a solo try.

He then produced a moment of magic as he charged down Bayonne full-back Cheik Tiberghien’s clearance kick, regathered the ball himself and threw a brilliant behind-the-back blind pass to Ahki for an easy run in.

Another try from Jack Willis meant Toulouse were in the driving seat at half-time as they led 26-12 with Juan Cruz Mallia converting three of their four tries.

Watch his full match highlights below.

Sensational second-half

The star half-back continued to impress in the second-half and could have had another try assist when he weighted a cross-kick out to Bituniyata perfectly, but the winger spilled the ball with the try-line begging.

Alban Placines’ score in the 46th minute kept Toulouse in control but they would have to wait until the final 10 minutes of the match to add to their lead.

Dupont’s quick hands close to the line sent Pierre-Louis Barassi over, but the Toulouse star was not done yet, saving one last bit of magic for his final hit out in the 15-man code before he pulls on the sevens kit.

With Toulouse searching for a bonus-point try – Top 14 rules requiring a side to score three tries more than their opposition – Dupont spotted a gap in the Bayonne defence inside his own half.

He sped through the gap, raced into the Bayonne half, and spread the ball wide to keep the attack going. Dupont got the ball back in the very next phase, and with few options near him, he spotted Mallia on the out wide and produced a pinpoint cross-kick to the full-back to secure the bonus point.

Dupont has now linked up with the French sevens team to begin preparations for the upcoming SVNS series stops in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

READ MORE: Building the Perfect Six Nations Player: The French defender Paul Gustard rates as better than Maro Itoje

France Antoine Dupont

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