LONG READ Is Antoine Dupont no longer undroppable?

The unthinkable is being whispered in France, a heresy that two years ago would have provoked uproar. Today, however, dissident voices are starting to wonder out loud if Toulouse shouldn’t drop Antoine Dupont.

The great man is evidently aware of what is being said on the streets and in one or two newspapers. “There’s no such thing as a guaranteed place,” said Dupont on the eve of last week’s clash with Bristol Bears. “Everything is up for grabs.”

A couple of days earlier, Midi Olyumpique had revealed that “in recent days discussions had taken place” at the club about who should start in the No 9 jersey: Dupont or his longstanding understudy Paul Graou?

Dupont got the nod but it was another average performance from the greatest European player of his generation. Since he returned in November from his knee injury, the 29 year-old has failed to recapture the form that earned him World’s Rugby Player of the Year award in 2021 and a spot on the shortlist in 2022 and 2023.

He didn’t make the cut in 2024 because he spent the best part of the season converting to Sevens, a transformation that helped France win Olympic gold in the Men’s final.

At the end of that year, RugbyPass ranked Dupont No1 in its Top 100 Men’s rugby players. It was a no-brainer. The stats said it all: he had assisted more tries (29) and made more offloads (61) than any other player for a Tier One nation this decade. He was also the top-ranking scrum half for carries (318), metres gained (1365), line-breaks (16), defenders beaten (101) and turnovers won (21).

We quoted another stupendous scrum-half, Gareth Edwards, who said of the Frenchman: “He can literally do it all. He is an extremely competent, intelligent, all-round rugby player who is also blessed with very special skills and attributes.”

By his sky-high standards, Dupont had a mediocre Six Nations despite France winning the championship. In a lengthy interview after the tournament, coach Fabien Galthie admitted it had been a “difficult” Six Nations for his captain.

Dupont still has those very special skills but he seems to be half a yard off the pace, mentally and physically. Above all, he seems tentative about going into contact, as if at the back of his mind there is still some lingering concern about that right knee of his.

Dupont first ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in February 2018 and it was the same knee and the same injury last year. It’s only natural that there are psychological as well as physical scars.

By his sky-high standards, Dupont had a mediocre Six Nations despite France winning the championship. In a lengthy interview after the tournament, coach Fabien Galthie admitted it had been a “difficult” Six Nations for his captain. Nonetheless, Galthie said it was understandable given the gravity of his knee injury and the fact he hadn’t played much rugby before the start of the competition.

Galthie made a point of praising Baptiste Serin, who was Dupont’s understudy during the Six Nations and came off the bench in all the matches except against England. Scrum-half is a position where France are spoiled for choice: Serin, Maxime Lucu and Nolann Le Garrec are all excellent players who would walk into many international sides.

The same goes for the 28-year-old Paul Graou, despite the fact he has never been capped by France. He’s been in the form of his life this season and many pundits were surprised he wasn’t named in the 42-man Six Nations squad. He is technically sound, lightening quick and he has Dupont’s eye for even the smallest of gaps in opposition defences. He’s scored 26 tries in his four seasons at Toulouse, eight of which have come this season.

Graou’s problem is that many have got it into their heads that he is nothing more than Dupont’s understudy, a fact that irritates Toulouse coach Ugo Mola. “Stop seeing him as a stand-in,” he snapped last week at journalists.

But does Mola see him just as a stand-in? If he doesn’t, then on current form he should promote Graou above Dupont. Mola confessed he “hesitated” before selecting Dupont in his starting XV against Bristol, so presumably he has also been umming and aahing this week ahead of Sunday’s Champions Cup clash against Bordeaux.

The reigning champions [Bordeaux] beat Toulouse in last season’s semi-final and should they win on Sunday it would be a serious dent to Toulouse’s boast that they are Europe’s dominant club.

The reigning champions beat Toulouse in last season’s semi-final and should they win on Sunday it would be a serious dent to Toulouse’s boast that they are Europe’s dominant club.

Bordeaux’s scrum-half Maxime Lucu replaced Dupont last season as France’s starting nine and he is an intelligent and efficient scrum-half. He’s 33, however, and not as quick as he was. One suspects he would prefer to face a Dupont lacking in confidence than an in-form Paul Graou.

There’s also the little matter of the fly-half rivalry between Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert. Like his buddy Dupont, Ntamack has struggled to recover from a serious knee injury (ACL) in the summer of 2023. He required clean-up surgery at the end of last season and is now showing glimpses of his old form.

Midi Olympique devoted two pages in Monday’s edition to the rivalry, asking the coaches of the Top 14 clubs who they would have as their starting ten in the Bleus. Two didn’t respond, two sat on the fence, six went for Ntamack and four for Jalibert.

Dupont admits there will be an ‘air of revenge’ this weekend when Toulouse travel to Bordeaux. Last year’s semi-final defeat hurt Toulouse. It may also pique the six-times European champions that Bordeaux boast arguably the two most exciting and glamorous players in French rugby – Jalibert and the world’s best winger on current form, Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

There seems to be no end to the 22-year-old’s brilliance, which is what they once said about Dupont.

Dupont’s face is still seen on billboards and in television commercials but that might not be the case for much longer if Bielle-Biarrey keeps scoring breathtaking tries.