Antoine Dupont believes France have the character to bounce back from a heavy defeat against Ireland in their first match. Picture: Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images.
Scrum-half Antoine Dupont said on Saturday he thinks France will react in a positive way after the heavy opening Six Nations defeat to Ireland.
Regular captain Dupont is missing for the tournament as he joins up with France’s seven-a-side squad before this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Friday’s 38-17 loss in Marseille left Les Bleus’ title hopes already hanging by a thread ahead of their trip to Scotland net week.
“It was hard to see France in such difficulty,” Dupont told Canal+.
“It was a step too much, we threw too many spanners in the works.”
“I’m not worried for the boys, they’re a squad with character and ambition and I’m sure they’ll bounce back for the next match in Scotland,” he added.
Dupont has become very influential within the France set-up since his Test debut in 2017 and led the side to a disappointing Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit to eventual winners South Africa on home soil last year.
Former World Rugby player of the year Dupont played his final 15-a-side game for more than a month on Saturday before starting his Olympics preparation.
He is set to take part in the Vancouver (February 23-25) and Los Angeles (March 2-3) legs of the World Rugby SVNS circuit over the coming weeks with the men’s sevens event at the Olympics taking place at the end of July.
“There’s a lot of excitement, a bit of worry too,” Dupont said after Toulouse’s league 46-26 win over Bayonne.
“It’s a really motivating challenge which I will approach in a studious way to learn first up and then quickly perform well,” the 52-time capped international added.
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