...AND THEN THE OLYMPICS?

He's the face of the 2023 World Cup and now it emerges that France captain ANTOINE DUPONT plans to play sevens at next year's Olympics too. But how easy is the transition? RW speaks to men in the know

- PAUL EDDISON

THE TRACK record of 15s superstars trying their hands at sevens is mixed to say the least, but France captain Antoine Dupont has the skill-set to be the exception to the rule.

Dupont, World Rugby’s men’s 15s Player of the Year in 2021, will lead his country at the World Cup on home soil later this autumn. The immediate focus, therefore, is on becoming the first Frenchman to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

However, once the World Cup is over, Dupont has another objective clearly marked out – to play sevens at the Olympic Games in Paris.

From the end of October until the end of July, that gives him nine months to make the transition – with Toulouse coach Ugo Mola giving an indication of how seriously Dupont is taking the challenge. Mola explained that he expects to lose his captain for half, if not all of next season. It could just be posturing but it’s clear Dupont doesn’t expect to simply rock up and dominate in sevens as he has in 15s.

He’s not the first to attempt the switch. When sevens made its debut at the 2016 Olympics, Sonny Bill Williams, Bryan Habana and Quade Cooper topped the bill of 15s standouts who came across. Of the three, Williams was the only one to make it to Brazil, with injury ending his tournament in the first group game.

So what lessons can be learned from the relative failures of the Rio trio? And is there reason to believe Dupont can thrive where they did not?

Tom Mitchell, who led Team GB to silver in 2016, believes he has a good chance. “It can be tough to make the switch to sevens depending on how limited your skill-set is,” he says.