Aaron Smith hails Antoine Dupont as world’s best

When one of the world’s true greats says you are the leading player in the world right now, it must feel amazing. So when All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith replied to a tweet from Guinness Six Nations proclaiming France’s Antoine Dupont as the best player in the game right now, you know the Toulouse star must be on fire.

With the official Six Nations account asking “Who is the best rugby player in the world right now?” Smith jumped in to reply: “(Dupont) this guy is on another level! No one is near him atm (at the moment). He’s the point of difference for both his club and country. He’s helping me look at parts of my game to improve.”

In Rugby World’s Autumn Nations Cup special edition of the magazine, we had a column from Stuart Barnes, who describes All Blacks scrum-half Smith in glowing terms, saying: “He is as close to the perfect passer of a ball as the sport has seen.”

Aaron Smith in All Blacks training (Getty Images)

The comments from the Highlanders and New Zealand star instantly generated interest – with the phrase “game recognises game” near ubiquitous as admirers and pundits reacted.

You can next see Dupont in action in the Six Nations, as France take on Ireland in Dublin, at the Aviva Stadium. That match is played on Sunday 14 February and will kick off at 3pm. You can find all of the upcoming France fixtures via Rugby World.

And if you’re wondering just why Aaron Smith hails Antoine Dupont like this, check out our match report from France’s 50-10 win over Italy – entitled Dupont dazzles as France crush Italy in Six Nations opener. He is off to a flying start already in this tournament.

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