Antoine Dupont, who led France to the gold medal defeating holders Fiji in the finals at the Paris Olympic Games, is widely regarded as the modern Jonah Lomu and has cemented himself in the eyes of many as the sport’s best player — and possibly the greatest of all time.
In a thrilling rugby sevens final against holders Fiji, Dupont scored two tries and teed up another to clinch his country’s first gold of Paris 2024.
Nicknamed “The Gifted”, Dupont, a stocky 5-foot, 9-inch, 190-pound slab of genius in the sport, started on the bench, ready to come into the game as an impact substitute. Unlike rugby union, the far slower, 15-person version of the game that lasts 80 minutes, rugby sevens is over in just 14 minutes.
France had started nervously, conceding a try to Fiji in less than 90 seconds, Selestino Ravutaumada effortlessly cutting through its lines. But when Dupont came on at halftime, he quickly bent the game to his will. Every time he received the ball, the decibels somehow became even more clamorous, as if the crowd was both charging and charged by the electricity of their talisman.
Straight from the halftime restart, the ball fell to him — his first touch — and in an instant he had covered 20 yards and was skipping round the veteran Fijian captain Jerry Tuwai before darting 40 more and offloading to Aaron Grandidier Nkanang for the score.
Dupont would take two slightly less dazzling tries himself, by which time the arena had caved into joyful madness.
“He’s why we came here,” said Jerome Faffe, 50, dressed in a France jersey and tricolor wig. “He’s fantastic, magnificent. … How else can I say it?”
Dupont has long been considered by many the world’s best, and indeed, he won the Men’s 15s World Player of the Year in 2021. Now he’s being compared to soccer’s GOAT, Lionel Messi.
The complete package
Dynamic, physical and creative, Dupont is the complete package and is head and shoulders above the rest as the best player in the world.
Sucking up the gut punch of being dumped out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in brutal fashion, the French maestro has led his club side Toulouse to the Investec Champions Cup and Top 14 titles in 2024, as well as taken the rugby sevens world by storm, leading France to two titles ahead of the Olympics.
Sitting comfortably in the pantheon of all-time greats at just 27 years old, Dupont is this generation’s Jonah Lomu.
Born 15 November 1996 in Lannemezan, Dupont has won the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year award in 2021 and three Six Nations Player of the Championships, the most by a French player. He has won nine major competitions in his career, including four Top 14 titles, two European Rugby Champions Cup, the Grand Slam of the Six Nations Championship, the 2023–24 SVNS and the Gold medal at the men’s rugby sevens tournament in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
He grew up in the nearby village of Castelnau-Magnoac where he started playing rugby for Magnoac FC at the age of 4. In 2011, he joined Auch as a junior.
International career
In 2016, Dupont was selected for the France U-20 team for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. He was one of the stars of the tournament scoring 36 points which included 5 tries.[8] In November 2016, he was selected for the French Barbarian team which played and beat Australia.
Dupont was called up to the French first team for the first time ahead of France’s fourth 2017 Six Nations Championship match against Italy as a replacement for Maxime Machenaud.[9] He made his debut in that game coming on for Baptiste Serin in the 72nd minute of an eventual 40–18 away win.
In 2020, Dupont was named Player of the Championship during following the 2020 Six Nations Championship.
In 2022, Dupont was named as France’s stand-in captain in the absence of Charles Ollivon. Later that year, France won the 2022 Six Nations Championship, achieving the Grand Slam as a result. This was France’s first Six Nations Championship win since 2010. He was awarded Player of the Championship for the third time.[12] Though France did not win the 2023 Six Nations tournament, Dupont claimed his third Player of the Championship trophy, equalling Brian O’Driscoll as the only player to win the award three times.
He is the third French captain after Fabien Pelous and Thierry Dusautoir to have beaten Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He was selected to captain the 34-man squad for France as they hosted the 2023 Rugby World Cup. They would advance past the Pool stage, however they exited the tournament in the quarterfinals after losing to eventual winners South Africa.
During the 2023/24 SVNS season he helped France 7s win the Los Angeles tournament and later the Madrid tournament. By winning the latter France 7s became champions for the first time in the history. He was absent for France during the 2024 Six Nations Championship due to his commitment to France 7s.
During the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he played a key role and scored the last try vs Argentina in the quarter finals leading France to the gold medal.
Club career
In 2014, Dupont joined Castres in the Top 14 after the relegation of Auch in the 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 season. In November 2016, Stade Toulousain announced Dupont’s recruitment for the 2017–18 season.
In 2019, Dupont won the Top 14 with Toulouse after defeating Clermont Auvergne 24-18 in the 2018-19 final. In May 2021, Dupont won the European Rugby Champions Cup with Toulouse after defeating La Rochelle 22-17 in the 2020-2021 final. As captain, he lifted the trophy after the final whistle.[6] In the same year, Toulouse completed the domestic and European double winning the Top 14 for the 2nd time beating La Rochelle 18-8 in the final.