VANCOUVER, CANADA — The former World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year is all set for his HSBC SVNS debut as he begins his bid to make the France sevens team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
After all the build-up and hype, Antoine Dupont will get the chance to do what he does best in Vancouver this weekend – perform his magic on the rugby field.
France’s captain at Rugby World Cup 2023 passed up the chance to be involved in this year’s Men’s Six Nations to try and make the cut for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and that journey starts in earnest at BC Place.
While this is the 27-year-old’s SVNS debut, it is France’s 200th series tournament as a team, so Dupont has experienced figures around him in people like Stephen Parez-Edo Martin and Paulin Riva to guide him through the weekend.
Dupont has been training with Jérôme Daret’s squad over the past few weeks after making his final appearance for his Top 14 club, Toulouse, in their 46-26 victory over Bayonne, where he scored a try and assisted three others.
France have been drawn in Pool B for HSBC SVNS Vancouver alongside Australia, USA and Samoa, with their opening game against USA kicking off at 14:36 local time (GMT-8).
Les Bleus Sevens achieved their best finish of the season in the last tournament in Perth at the end of January but are still only seventh in the overall standings.
World Rugby Media Release
Photo credit: World Rugby
