Steve Borthwick’s England have some insider knowledge on Antoine Dupont – but it may not be enough to save them on Saturday at Twickenham.
The good news is defence coach Joe El-Abd was on the staff at Castres for two years when a young Dupont was coming through the ranks before the scrum-half’s move to Toulouse in 2017.
The bad news is El-Abd can’t see any flaws in the game’s biggest name ahead of the latest edition of Le Crunch against the French.
El-Abd arrived at Castres in 2015 when a teenage Dupont was already turning heads and saw at first hand his evolution into the complete player.
And El-Abd revealed there was no doubt Dupont, now 28, would become a star of the sport then – and it is not just about natural talent.
El-Abd said: “I spent a couple of years with Antoine in his formative years. We saw the talent he had at that point and now we are seeing the fruits of all the work he has been putting in all the way through. It is the work – he puts in the work and we are seeing that now.
“He was already a great lad who wanted to get better at his game. We saw that the talent was there right away so he’s always had it, but aligned with the work that he puts in, it was always going to come to this.
“We knew where he was going to go. It was spoken about in France, that there was a player coming through that was going to be something a bit different.
It is El-Abd’s job to find a way to neutralize the threat of the superstar half-back but the best he can come up with is don’t get caught napping – because Dupont has got the lot.
He added: “I always remember him kicking with both feet, trying to kick with his left foot. And now, obviously, he’s got that in his locker as well. Is there a weakness? I’m not sure if we talk about weaknesses.
“It’s just about being ready at all moments and not switching off at any point. And if we can do that for 80 minutes, we’ll see what that gives us.”
El-Abd is combining his England role with one as head coach of Oyonnax in the French second tier, Pro D2, until the end of the season.
He has lived in France since 2009 when he moved to play for Toulon, where he turned out with Jonny Wilkinson, and has his finger on the pulse of the French game.
French rugby is on the up, with a vibrant club game, but they have won just one Grand Slam, in 2022, since 2010 and crashed out of their own World Cup at the quarter-final stages.
And El-Abd warned: “They have got France v Ireland, France v Wales etc but France v England is the biggest fixture on their Six Nations calendar. We know they are going to be ready.”
Despite their star-studded back line the game will be won up front and England prop Will Stuart is expecting a trial of strength at scrum-time facing off against a power-packed front row of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Peato Mauvaka and Uini Atonio.
He said: “They a very heavy unit and they’re all extremely aggressive. As a prop, it’s the litmus test.”
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