PARIS — After fearing a broken cheekbone ended his Rugby World Cup campaign, France captain Antoine Dupont reassured anxious supporters of the title-chasing tournament host on Friday: “I’m at the top of my game.”
Dupont was picked to start in the quarterfinal against defending champion South Africa at Stade de France on Sunday, 3 1/2 weeks after a sickening collision of heads broke his face.
“I feel very well. I haven’t felt any pain and that’s what reassured me,” Dupont said in his first public comments. “If I’m playing now it means that I’m feeling well and the doctor has validated my presence.”
Dupont was cleared only on Monday by the surgeon who repaired him to resume full contact training, and he will wear a scrum cap at the surgeon’s request.
“It doesn’t bother me or interfere with my vision,” Dupont said. “I wasn’t put under any pressure by the staff. We respected all the deadlines and what was important was how I felt.”
When he was injured by an illegal head-on-head tackle on Sept. 21 against Namibia, Dupont thought the worst.
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“I thought that the World Cup was over for me,” he recalled. “They were very difficult moments for me. It’s a long World Cup and I was lucky enough that the injury came fairly early on.”
Dupont scored his 13th international try before he was injured by Namibia captain Johan Deysel in the 45th minute. Dupont walked off in distress and left Stade Velodrome immediately for hospital scans.
Many observers questioned why he was still on the field while was France was en route to a best-ever 96-0 win. But time worked in his favor in the end.
“My recovery went well and I managed to go through each step before playing again. I was lucky enough to have several weeks to do all that,” Dupont said. “I started running again at low intensity, then I went up a level. It was the same for tackling.”
France coach Fabien Galthié said the backroom staff never panicked.
“We felt comfortable with it because we had time,” Galthié said. “We never rushed things, and we approached each step calmly.”
Dupont’s absence from France’s final pool game against Italy last Friday wasn’t a problem, as Les Tricolores won 60-7.
But for his 52nd cap they face problems galore from the three-time champion Springboks.
“We have very high objectives and we know it will be very hard,” Dupont said. “If we’re not ready for that, then we’re not ready to get to where we want to go.”
France rounded off a perfect 2022 by edging South Africa 30-26 in a brutal contest last December when one player was sent off from each side.
Dupont was red carded early in the second half for clumsily taking out airborne winger Cheslin Kolbe, who landed on his neck in one of several bone-jarring moments.
“It was very demanding physically when we played them, but that’s always the case when you’re playing at the highest level,” Dupont said. “You have to be ready to suffer.”
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