Antoine Dupont

Antoine Dupont

Antoine Dupont (born 15 November 1996) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Top 14 club Toulouse and captains the France national team. Dupont has won a lot of individual accolades in his career, including the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year award in 2021 and the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2024. He is the first French player to win the Men’s Sevens World Rugby Player of the Year award. Dupont is also the first and only rugby player ever to have won both the Men’s 15s and the Men’s Sevens World Rugby Player of the Year awards in one’s career. He has also won a shared record of three Six Nations Player of the Championships, the most by a French player.

Dupont has won 11 major competitions in his career: five Top 14 titles, two European Rugby Champions Cup, two Six Nations Championship including one Six Nations Grand Slam, the 2023–24 SVNS and the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics men’s rugby sevens tournament in Paris.

(source: Wikipedia)

Rugby’s Superstar, A world-class player

Antoine Dupont is widely regarded as one of the best — if not the very best — rugby union players in the world today. As captain of XV de France and a key figure for his club Stade Toulousain, Dupont brings a unique blend of speed, vision, technical ability and game-control that few players can match. His influence on the pitch — both as a scrum-half and a leader — makes him a difference-maker in high-stakes matches.
His performances have earned global recognition. Time and again he has demonstrated he can step up when it matters most, delivering in domestic competitions, club championships and international tournaments. For many rugby fans and experts, Dupont embodies the modern standard of excellence in rugby union.

The ACL injury: what happened

The ACL injury occurred on 8 March 2025, during the 2025 edition of the Six Nations Championship. The match was the clash between France and Ireland national rugby union team, played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Dupont left the field in the 28th minute of the game, after a ruck in which Irish lock Tadhg Beirne — while contesting inside the ruck — fell onto his leg. The contact caused Dupont’s knee to buckle. He was helped off the pitch, visibly affected by the injury. The diagnosis, confirmed the next day, was a rupture of the cruciate ligaments in his right knee. His 2025 season ended immediately following the injury; he was ruled out for the remaining matches of both his national team and club commitments.

Dupont himself shared a message on social media

“The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your mates before the last hurdle. … Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the start of a new challenge, I’ll see you in a few months on the pitches.”

Return after 266 days

This type of injury often keeps players sidelined for many months, and for someone like Dupont — known for his explosive pace, agility, and razor-sharp decision-making — it raised serious questions about how (and when) he might return to top-level rugby. After his surgery and rehabilitation, signs of recovery started to emerge. By October 2025, Dupont was back training with his club Stade Toulousain. On 29 November 2025, after 266 days without competitive rugby, Dupont made his long-awaited comeback. Coming on as a substitute around the 50th minute in the Top 14 match between Stade Toulousain and Racing 92. The match ended in a convincing 48–24 bonus-point win for Toulouse, and Dupont quickly showed flashes of his old brilliance: shortly after entering the field he made a sharp play — a tapped penalty and a well-timed kick over the defense that led to a try for his teammate.

After the match, Dupont reflected: “I’ve still got a bit of work to do, but I felt good.” He and his coaches emphasized that this return was just the beginning — but the early signs were encouraging.

Highlights & Awards