Support lines
Antoine Dupont’s support lines are his signature, and they have influenced the way other scrum halves play. After passing to Romain Ntamack or another first receiver, Dupont tracks the play in front of the line of the ball. Not only does it allow him to get to the next breakdown as quickly as possible, but it puts him in positions to receive inside passes after one of his team-mates break.
Since his debut, Dupont has averaged more support-line carries, breaks and metres gained per game than any other scrum half. The likes of Harry Randall have spoken openly about watching Dupont to develop their own support lines and it has led to a surge in scrum halves tracking the play in front of the ball.
Attack
Dupont’s support lines are not the only stand-out feature of his diverse attacking repertoire. The world player of the year is constantly looking for snipes around the fringes of rucks and is lethal in broken play, particularly when mopping up the backfield.
Dupont averages more carries, metres gained and defenders beaten per 80 minutes than any other scrum half since his debut in 2017, and only Australia’s Tate McDermott and South Africa’s Cobus Reinach average more pick-and-go metres.
His 70-metre run against Scotland to create Paul Willemse’s try illustrated his rare blend of steps, speed, power and fends. He gathered Finn Russell’s kick in his own 22, slipped out of Darcy Graham’s tackle, sped past Rory Darge and smashed through Ali Price on the left touchline before France scored two phases later.
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“He is an unusual mix in that he can literally do it all,” Gareth Edwards, the former Wales and British & Irish Lions scrum half, says. “He is an extremely competent, intelligent, all-round rugby player who is also blessed with very special skills and attributes — incredible strength for a small man, a steam-piston hand off, great pace when he needs it, the toughness to absorb big hits and that spatial awareness and anticipation to know where he needs to be in five and ten seconds time. I suppose we call that instinct.”
Defence
Punching well above one’s weight is an increasing feature of modern-day scrum halves and it is certainly no different with Dupont. The 25-year-old often seems more like a flanker than a No 9 when rushing up to make such aggressive hits, and he has won more tackle turnovers per game than any other scrum half since his debut.
Dupont’s role in Shaun Edwards’s blitz defence is vital for France. When he is not looking to slow opposition half backs with quick line speed around the fringes he is deployed out wide. It is partially to protect the outside channels, but also to keep the ball in the centre of the pitch. A trademark feature of France’s defence is Dupont rushing up out of the line to prevent an opposition from passing the ball wide.
It often seems like he is given license to roam freely in defence like Faf de Klerk for South Africa, but it is part of a bigger structure to keep an opposition attack narrow. “Antoine’s role is to control a certain area of our defence and he does a good job of that,” Edwards, the France defence coach, says. “He wants the free rein to fly up and make hits, but I don’t give it to him. He knows we have to defend as a team and not individuals.”
Wales recycle the ball after Adam Beard takes it into contact inside the France half. As Gareth Thomas receives the ball, Dupont sprints out of the defensive line to prevent it from getting to Wales’s extra men beyond Liam Williams. Dupont makes a dominant tackle on Williams and in only one phase Wales have lost 13 metres.
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Mentality
An element of Dupont defending like a fourth back row is his heart, passion and determination in a France shirt. He is phenomenally aggressive when he needs to be but also extremely measured. In the absence of Charles Ollivon, Dupont has been made France’s captain and the reasons are plain to see.
“I wouldn’t want to play cards against him, that’s for sure!” Gareth Edwards says. “He has that game face of his and the mask doesn’t slip for the full 80 minutes. There is always a big smile when he scores but that’s it, he stays on the case, does not get involved in any niggle or back chat and does not go in for histrionics. He is remorseless in the way that the great Kiwis are.”
Kicking
The combination of Dupont’s box kicks and the tactical punts of Ntamack are vital for France’s new structured kicking game. “France did not have a structured kicking game three years ago,” Shaun Edwards says. “With the excellent defences and jackallers at international level, it is important to kick for attack and kick for space.”
Dupont’s kicks are vital for France clearing their lines but also for creating opportunities in attack, as Edwards says. Managing the carrying threats of Jonathan Danty and co in the back line is hard enough for any opposition, but Dupont adds an extra dimension and variety to the France attack with his range of chipped kicks and grubbers.
Tryscoring examples include his inch-perfect crossfield kick for Damian Penaud’s try against Scotland in the 2020 Six Nations and his left-footed dink over Italy’s defence for Gael Fickou’s score last year (below).
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Playmaking
Rapid and laser-accurate distribution are inevitable hallmarks of such an accomplished scrum half, but Dupont’s organisation and ability to pick the correct attacking option are stand-out attributes.
He knows when to keep it tight with the forwards and when to feed Ntamack quickly and his passing statistics reflect how central he is to France’s free-flowing attack. Dupont has averaged more offloads per 80 minutes than any other scrum half since his debut and only Australia’s Will Genia averages more pass-to-break assists in the same period.
