Olympic sevens interests Antoine Dupont

He is the reigning men’s world player of the year and is on the cusp of winning France a Grand Slam in the Six Nations. Next year he should lead them into a Rugby World Cup on home soil.

It’s safe to say Antoine Dupont has a lot on his plate. However, by the time the Paris Olympics roll around, he is also prepared to throw his hat in the ring for sevens selection.

Talking the the PAUSE podcast with Alexandre Mars of the Paris 2024 board of directors, the Toulouse scrum-half gave his view on the concept. 

“It’s really something that motivates me,” he said. “Just doing the Olympics, it’s so incredible, when you’re in front of your TV and you see all the events that follow one another, with this patriotic fervour. It’s so strong!”

On how big a change it would be, he said: “The best player in the world of 2021 knows well that a switch from 15s to sevens would require specific preparation.

“Afterwards, it’s hard, because it’s a discipline that remains different from 15s. Admittedly, it’s the same ball, but it’s not the same movements, not the same races, not the same strategies, not the same physical efforts either, so it will take time to adapt, that’s for sure. But I’m hot, anyway!”

Of course, any switch to sevens would require sign-off from an awful lot of people, as he explained: “It’s not just me who has to agree, they have to agree, my club has to agree too. We have to talk about it with everyone at the table, but my will is there, that’s for sure.”

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