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Jerome Kaino says All Blacks are facing 'Dan Carter' level talent with Dupont
When the All Blacks face France in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, it will be the third time that they will see 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year Antoine Dupont on the pitch.
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In 2017 the young scrumhalf made his first start for France against New Zealand as a 20-year-old, and although they lost 38-18, Dupont was exceptional with his running game.
The next time Dupont faced the All Blacks was in 2021 where his France side stunned Ian Foster’s team with a 40-25 win.
Ex-All Black No 6 Jerome Kaino is very familiar with Dupont and Romain Ntamack after playing along side the pair for years at Toulouse in the Top 14.
The 2015 World Cup winner compared the No 9 to one of the all-time greats, saying that Dupont is like Dan Carter in how he thinks and plays the game.
“When we talk about Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, DC comes to mind,” Kaino told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“The way they operate, they way they think about the game, how professional they are.
“I immediately think ‘Dan Carter’ in terms of the mannerisms, what they do.”
Since the last World Cup, Dupont has become the world’s best player which has brought with it extra attention on the pitch.
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Kaino warned that targeting the scrumhalf could backfire as he ‘loves’ the challenge and has a way of figuring out how to deal with it.
He has watched first hand as teams in the Top 14 have gone after him with limited success.
“When he plays for us [Toulouse], everyone is trying to target him,” Kaino said.
“He’s obviously the link between forwards and backs but probably the key to our game.
“The way he adjusts, the way he adapts, it’s incredible.
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“When I watch him play, he loves pressure, he loves people targeting him. He will always find a way to adapt to whatever comes his way.
“If he keeps going the way he is, he could go down as one of the best.
“For his size, he’s really physical, he loves the contact. He’s quite abrasive but his skills, if you’ve seen him play, he’s got box kicks off left and right, fend with both hands.”
Kaino believed that France would be able to handle the loss of Ntamack, who suffered an ACL injury in the warm-up fixture with Scotland.
The former All Black gave some advice on how to stop France, the focus should not be on Dupont but on the pack in front of him.
“I think French rugby have built a good pool of players over the last couple of years.
“Any position they’ve got depth. Whoever fills in for Romain, I’m sure they will try keep similar cohesion, connection.
“For us, on the All Blacks side, the key is up front.
“Their forwards love pick and go, love mauls, I think for us, we saw that match in 2021 and that’s where it all started for their momentum. Up front.
“If we are able to do that, it makes it a bit harder for Antoine and whoever is at 10.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to comments