Dupont still the 'king' of French rugby

Paris – Five months after his last appearance at the Stade Ernest Wallon, Antoine Dupont (right) was back, a 10-minute hat-trick reminding the Toulouse faithful that he remains the king of French rugby.

- – AFP

They cheered noisily when his name was announced among the replacements for Saturday's sixth round Top 14 match against Claremont and even louder when he peeled off his training top to come on for Japanese scrum-half Naoto Saito in the 45th minute.

The noise levels went through the roof two minutes later when the France captain and Olympic Sevens gold medal winner darted through a hole in the Clermont defence to chalk up his first try of the night.

“He doesn't need 50 chances, he's an opportunist,” said Toulouse's skills coach David Mele.