According to a Winamax and RTL survey published Sunday October 1, the French would be against a return of the captain.
Blues captain Antoine Dupont returned to training this Sunday October 1 in Aix-en-Provence after his fracture, where the French XV is preparing for the confrontation against Italy this Friday, decisive for qualification in the quarter-final. While it is still too early to know his exact return date to competition, speculation is rife. And if some go so far as to hope for a return of Antoine Dupont from the match against Italy, the majority of French people would not even seem to be in favor of a return of the captain in the quarter-final.
Indeed, according to a survey carried out by Odoxa for Winamax and RTL, 56% of respondents (out of a sample of 1,500 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over) want Antoine Dupont not to be on the field to play a quarter-final in the event of qualification next Friday against Italy, with a view to preserving themselves for a possible semi-final.
Victim of a maxillo-zygomatic fracture on September 21 against Namibia (96-0), Antoine Dupont was operated on immediately. Today, 76% of French people believe that he would not be at his best level if he played in the quarter-finals, 74% of them are worried about his health and 68% are even worried about the future. of his career if he had to play this match. To replace him, the French were also asked about their preference between Maxime Lucu and Baptiste Couilloud. And surprisingly, it is the LOU player who is preferred by those surveyed: 59% of people see Couilloud replacing Antoine Dupont as starter, compared to only 40% for Maxime Lucu.
If on the field, Thursday September 21, the XV of France signed its biggest victory in the history of the Rugby World Cup against Namibia with a score of 96 to 0, but the Blues lost for a few weeks their captain and best player in the world, Antoine Dupont, following head-to-head contact with Namibia player Johan Deysel, earning him a red card a few minutes later.
Like basketball players or footballers, more and more players can play with a mask and we have already seen rugby players wearing them like the Frenchman Imanol Harinordoquy. Problem, a mask must be approved by World Rugby because it is not part of the authorized equipment.
In the details of the regulation, it is clearly specified that “equipment that is sharp, abrasive or contains buckles, clips, rings, hinges, zippers, screws, bolts or rigid materials are prohibited (…) In general , any protection not expressly authorized is prohibited.” Rugby being a contact sport, any protection could endanger the health of Antoine Dupont and also that of the opponent. At present, World Rugby and the FFR have not communicated on any mask production.
