France 7s captain praises world’s ‘best player’ Antoine Dupont after debut

France captain Paulin Riva has described Antoine Dupont as “the best player in the world” after his new teammate’s first taste of SVNS Series action at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium.

Dupont was the player that every fan wanted to see on Day One at SVNS Vancouver. But after being named to start on the bench, supporters were made to wait that little bit longer.

The Frenchman, who captained Les Bleus at last year’s Rugby World Cup on home soil, eventually debuted with just under five minutes to play in France’s win over the USA.

Wearing the No. 25 jersey, Dupont showed glimpses of promise as he began to settle into the fast-paced world that is the SVNS Series.

But it’s clear that Dupont has already had an impact on his teammates – who emerged as one of the teams to beat after Day One at the Canadian venue.

Captain Paulin Riva was asked about what it’s like having someone of Dupont’s calibre in the team and the response didn’t disappoint.

“Antoine is a very good player and very important for us to help him on the field,” captain Riva told RugbyPass.

“I think for the first day, it’s been a good day for us and for him, winning our first two games.

“We have a group of leaders and we want to help him. He’s the best player in the world so for me it’s an honour to play with these guys.”

France sits in pole position at the top of Pool B after a convincing 24-12 win over the United States of America and a 40-7 demolition of Samoa later in the evening.

Antoine Zeghdar stole the show against Samoa with a first-half double, while tries to Jordan Sepho, Joseph Jefferson Lee, Esteban Capilla and Theo Forner completed the rout.

“It’s a very good day for us (but) it’s just the first day,” Riva added.

“If you win the tournament, we need to perform during the long weekend.”

France will look to keep their unbeaten start to SVNS Vancouver alive when they take on a desperate Australian side on Saturday afternoon (local time).