WATCH: Flying head-butt mars Antoine Dupont’s return to action for Toulouse

Adam Kyriacou
Antoine Dupont made his return for his Toulouse on Saturday.

Antoine Dupont made his return for his Toulouse on Saturday.

Antoine Dupont made his return to action for Toulouse as a replacement in their comfortable 48-24 win over Racing 92, but the game was marred by a shocking red card.

Star scrum-half Dupont had been on the sidelines since the Six Nations following a ruptured ACL while on duty for France in March and has worked his way back to full fitness.

Rumours of a potential rugby comeback were sparked when he was pictured training with Les Bleus and he was later included in Toulouse’s squad for Saturday’s home match.

Red card drama

However, the drama came before he even entered the fray as Racing 92 hooker Janick Tarrit was shown a red card for a flying head-butt on Toulouse back-rower Efrain Elias.

This incident occurred on the stroke of half-time with the scoreline at 8-3 as Tarrit charged into Elias head first, leading to the referee Tual Trainini sending off the hooker.

Racing’s players, who had begun to make their way off the field, were called back and Toulouse would make their advantage pay when Elias crossed the whitewash before the break.

That made it 15-3 at half-time with Romain Ntamack’s conversion and Toulouse would further extend their cushion on 48 minutes through Matias Remue before Dupont‘s arrival.

The global superstar was greeted by mass cheers on his return to action and he soon had a hand in Matthis Lebel crossing the try-line thanks to his perfectly weighted chip kick.

Dupont’s comeback comes at the perfect time for Toulouse as the Top 14 pace-setters will now turn their attention to two rounds of Investec Champions Cup action in early December.

They play host to the Sharks next Sunday in Round One before travelling to tackle Glasgow Warriors in week two. Then it is back to the Top 14 and a trip to Lyon on December 20.

READ MORE: Nigel Owens: One thing World Rugby ‘needs to look at’ as it’s having a ‘huge’ impact on the game

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