All eyes on poster boy Dupont as France captain returns to face South Africa
France coach Fabien Galthie lifted all doubts about Dupont's condition when he named him in the starting line-up for the Stade de France game after the player underwent surgery on a broken cheekbone three weeks ago.
"It changes a lot of things. We have confidence in all our nines, and Antoine gives us a lot of confidence," flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert told a press conference.
"He's capable of making big differences, and he instils fear in the opposition. He's 100%, even if he's wearing a helmet."
While Jalibert shone more than usual with his Begles-Bordeaux club partner Maxime Lucu in France's 60-7 crushing of Italy last week, he obviously welcomes the return of Dupont, the 2021 World Player of the Year.
"The whole team are delighted to have him back. It's always a pleasure to play with him, and it's easy to adapt to his game. He's got the same role he had at the start of the competition. He'll play his part," Jalibert said.
His part will include creating space in South Africa's barbed-wire defence and have his usual influence on the course of the game.
READY TO SUFFER
"Antoine is obviously the captain of the team, he has an influence on the group, as well as on the referees and opponents," said full-back Thomas Ramos, who has been extremely precise from the tee at the World Cup.
"He has a very long kicking game and can find gaps whenever he wants. He was voted best player in the world. There's a reason for that."
Dupont said he had no apprehension whatsoever regarding brutal contacts with the Springboks and France are not going to change their game to protect their talisman.
Asked if he was mentally ready to deal with some potential pain, Dupont laughed.
"In these matches, there is always pain, physical or mental. We have to be ready to suffer. If we're not ready for this we won't go where we want to go," he said.
Vice-captain and flanker Charles Ollivon said Les Bleus would not specifically look after Dupont.
"There's no particular strategy to protect him, although we'll be tasked with protecting the areas around the halfbacks," he said.
"We have to be very strong in the midfield. Up front too. There'll be work to do. We're going to help each other out. You need to get a feel for your teammate if you want to excel. We're going to help each other."
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