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Watch: Dupont celebrates World Player of the Year with 'cheat code' display
Fresh off winning the World Rugby Player of the Year award, Toulouse scrumhalf Antoine Dupont showed his class against a Cardiff side missing a whopping 42 players in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup.
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Despite a valiant showing by a depleted Cardiff side, it was never going to be enough when part-timers were called upon to overcome the might of Toulouse, who comfortably won 39-7.
At the heart of it was France’s star 9 Antoine Dupont, whose ability was heightened when pitted against what could be considered half-pro players. He had two monster line breaks in the first half, one coming from a scrum and another from a quick line out.
Dupont??Ntamack??Jelonch
Too good from Toulouse#CARvTLS #CARST #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/i4aTI8t6EH
— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) December 11, 2021
Romain Ntamack on his Toulouse team-mate Antoine Dupont:
“He’s walking on water right now.” pic.twitter.com/cvCAobIagy
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) December 11, 2021
His dazzling running game was on show again in the second half when he picked up a loose ball at the back of the lineout and masterfully dissected the Cardiff defence for an incredible individual try.
The 25-year-old followed that up with a cross-field kick from the base of the ruck that hit his winger on the chest for another Toulouse try.
It’s Antoine Dupont’s ball and everyone else is just borrowing it#CARvTLS #CARST #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/x3tI0KV1qe
— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) December 11, 2021
The year is 26 AD [Antoine Dupont].
ADVERTISEMENTAntoine Dupont continues to perform magic on the rugby pitch. pic.twitter.com/JdCcsr2daM
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) December 11, 2021
Basically Antoine Dupont has discovered a cheat code for “rugby”. And then, after using that cheat code, decides to implement a further God Mode.
Everyone else just looks on, slightly confused, and wonders what this alien lifeforms is and where he came from.
— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) December 11, 2021
Antoine Dupont wearing the “no can tackle me” suit again ?? #CARvTOU
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) December 11, 2021
Antoine Dupont’s jack-hammer hand-off reminded this ageing correspondent of Gareth Edwards in his pomp. So, fitting that the great man should be at the Arms Park today to watch the French masterclass in person. C’est magnifique.
— Simon Thomas (@simonrug) December 11, 2021
Magnificent from a club decimated by COVID. @Cardiff_Rugby’s academy kids and Welsh League part-timers better, braver, more daring than anyone had a right to expect: flat out from start to finish. If only the peerless Antoine Dupont @StadeToulousain had been on the other side…
— Peter Jackson (@JackoRugby) December 11, 2021
Cardiff v Toulouse. Everyone knew the result and the Champions’ Cup holders duly won with Antoine DuPont outstanding but fair play to those Cardiff boys who stood in and stood up. A Covid decimated squad allowed youngsters and non professionals to play and congratulations to them
— Peter Taylor (@peter31063) December 11, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to comments