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'I couldn't sleep': Antoine Dupont felt 'injustice' with Kiwi ref Ben O'Keeffe
By Ben Smith
France’s star scrumhalf Antoine Dupont has revealed that he felt so much injustice during the World Cup quarter-final against South Africa that he had to rewatch the game the day afterward.
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The quarter-final result for France was by the exact same margin in 2019, a 20-19 loss to Wales, but the feeling this time was very different.
During the game there were displays of frustration from Dupont and other French players as they tried to adapt to O’Keeffe’s style.
Dupont said in an interview with legendary footballer Thierry Henry for Bros. Stories that he “needed” to rewatch the game.
“In 2019, we were eliminated by one point, the same, while we were leading by 12 or 13 points with a quarter of an hour to go, but I never watched the match again,” he told Henry.
“That one, I needed it. I couldn’t sleep, so I watched the match the next day.
“Because you always have an impression on the pitch, and sometimes, rewatching the match it’s different.
“It was to see if this feeling of injustice was real or not.”
The scrumhalf was openly critical in his post-match comments in the aftermath of the loss saying he didn’t think that the “refereeing was up to the challenge.”
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Following the criticism O’Keeffe brushed off the comments as part of the emotional toll.
“It’s obviously a very emotional time,” O’Keeffe told NewsHub at the time. “I just try to respect that and give them space.”
A World Rugby review into the performance highlighted five major errors with O’Keeffe’s decisions, most of which went South Africa’s way that were material to scoring events during the game.
France benefitted from two major infringements that weren’t picked up and allowed to play on.
Dupont said whilst he will likely get another chance to hoist the William Webb Ellis trophy, he will hold regret over the “nightmare”.
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“I will have the opportunity to win it [the World Cup] perhaps, but we regret the match,” he told Henry.
“You replay the movie in your head and the worse it goes, the worse it ends up going.
“So all you want to do is sleep and then wake up hoping that it’s just a nightmare. Unfortunately, you have to come to accept it and move on.”
The best sports men and women - real champions - have short memories.
And they certainly don’t whine like babies for weeks on end.
Moveon.com.
Not to inflame thinsg further but amazed that Arendse’s push on Fickou for Try 1 wasn’t picked up. The push meant Fickou clattered into the two Frenchmen under thr high ball….which rebounded into the path of Arendse who had a clear run to the try line.
Why is my comment to shown is this site shaddow banning people that speak the truth????
Dear Antoine, your country through FIFA like backdoor dealings stole the hosting RSA had been promised the only Tier 1 nation with just one hosting. All others with 2 and in some instances shared for a 3rd time.
You were on every poster pre-ordained like Lomu in 1999, as if the tourny was all about you and your nation. BTW against real opponents I never saw one Fourie Du Preez no 9 performance like he did vs ENG for a 36 - 0 beating in England in RWC2007, where RSA won a title in your home land, yet you underestimated their team level of commitment.
You had 2 players that may have got yellows if EBEN'S BENCHMARK was the standard that didn’tget one. After 65 mins your team fizzled out, to a side with a Bench who always finishes strong. Rugby is a 80 min game.
You had 10mins of an extra man, and still gave up 4 tries in defence where the Boks gave up 3.
The problem was your mental entitlement to be Champion, without having as a challenger the ability to knock the real champion out, who played away in the NH like 75% of their RWC wins in a crowd hostile environment, where most neutrals also wanted you to win.
They are beasts for coming through all that, and it was only mid-journey of an all the way hostile crying angry babies tunnel with French, Eng & NZ vitriol that still runs today, just like you.
Too African Too Strong, more tries, 10 mins Bin time, great blocked kick, because of guile graft and toil to a level you have yet to expereince.
Visualizing something is one thing, the mental cognizance of failure to deliver is however all yours, it’s earned. Learn something from it.
If Antoine had one big problem in this match, it was his communication with the referee. Nevertheless he played rather well, especially after undergoing a surgery 2 weeks before.
Despite having an inferior bench, the french squad should pack enough quality to outscore the boks during the first hour of the game and then keep their advantage, but they provided too many gifts to an opponent who doesn’t need much to score. Playing with more composure, the refereeing wouldn’t have been a topic.
Well put Crypto
I hope that your Christmas comes sooooooooon
Haha Ben Smith is such a loser! Everything he writes shouts loser!
Not as much as SA fans comments do. Take your dispute to twitter👍
Seems pretty embarassing the overwhelming negative comments from English speaking fans on this topic. All sports have disputable calls like the hand of god or offensive interference in American football, and rubgy leaves so much judgement that its gets twice as much.
All this will not help elevating the sport from its “british empire” origins. I’m sorry all your Southern hemisphere sympathies do nothing for this sport in big markets like western Europe (ex UK) or even the US.
Ah, this is about the French? Unless you’re referring to the SA boom posters?
What’s French for ‘put on your big boy pants’?
Mets ton pantalon de grand garçon.
Wishing you the Luck / Divine Favour of the Springboks over the Festive Season and the coming year!
Boo bloody hoo.
accepting a loss, even when felt unfair, used to be rugby-DNA …. something which set it apart from a lot of other sports …. I am afraid, it’s going the wrong way …. if players and coaches start using the refs as the ring-the-bell of their frustration, there is no wonder if keyboard-warriors feel entitled to spill own venom ….
It’s correlated with the rise of the TMO. We’re seeing an increase in “footballism” - complaining, simulation, over-acting - all to influence the guy off the pitch. Refs have always made errors, but generally they kept them and the game balanced, and over the course of the game things ended up even. The TMO is an attempt to make rugby laws black-and-white, which they are not and never have been. They have no responsibility to the game as such, but to identifying of single incidents. It’s much easier to influence a single incident and how a TMO tends to interpret incidents, than to influence how a ref runs an entire game. This is exacerbated by the outsized influence certain single decisions can have on the game’s outcome. This all drives the “footballism” mentioned above amongst players, and a similar response by fans.
The TMO’s remit and increasing influence also drives an expectation amongst players and fans that every single incident will be correctly adjudicated by the TMO - something which is impossible since rugby’s laws are not black and white. And thus more whining and complaining after every match by fans and players. Including by myself 😂
Maybe the ref was a Saffa. Dupoesnd is clearly having PTSD
World cup of whingers, that's all i’ll remember this one for.
Welcome to the club Dupont. Well I guess he was first in. Wonder what the World Rugby review of the Final came up with?
Yes there’s a lot of silence there but what do you expect from the IRB , the players are all accountable for there actions but the officials aren't, there were a lot of bad calls at the WC but none went against SA , Rassies ranting and raving over the last few years really worked
BOK is hopeless. Probably almost as bad as Barnes is. At least Barnes has gone. Now lets hope BOK goes soon too.
Barnes? Generally regarded as one of the best in the world? What are you talking about?
I agree. The sooner WR get rid of the core of their officials that are (and have been for 3 decades) mandated to protect and favour SA the better for the game. Poite, Garces, Owens and Barnes have all thankfully retired, only another 10 or so to go.