Antoine Dupont

The French icon and captain continues to play rugby from another planet

- Alan Dymock

GALLING, REALLY. When asked if anything stands out about his Toulouse team-mate, Pita Ahki tells us that while Antoine Dupont is capable of “shifting tin when he decides to”, the nine is more often clocked in the gym stretching. And then on the training paddock, there’s minimal fuss before go-time. “I don’t know if it’s because he’s still quite young,” Ahki says, “but he just pops his boots on and gets stuck into it, no real warm-up…”

Aliens may have dropped Dupont off in France. It’s hard to believe that he has only been on the Test stage since 2017, but his ascent has been as sharp as sanbokan. World Rugby men’s Player of the Year in 2021. A Grand Slam-winning captain in 2022. A Champions Cup and Top 14 winner. Hell, he’s even been on the cover of GQ in a dressing gown.

Of course, there was nothing laid-back about the moment when he caught Ireland’s Mack Hansen metres from the try-line in the Six Nations and lugged him away from a certain score.

His extraterrestrial ability has been clear to others since he was a teenager.