Author of a fine entry during his team’s victory in Lyon (19-41) on Saturday evening, Antoine Dupont is not the only scrum-half from Stade Toulousain to have shone.
The return to competition is going well for Antoine Dupont. After two appearances and one start last week in the Champions Cup in Glasgow, the international scrum-half was back on the bench on Saturday evening for Stade Toulousain’s trip to Lyon in the Top 14.
Entry in the 54th minute, when his team had just got back in front, the captain of the XV of France allowed Ugo Mola’s men to finish strong and take the lead, even winning the offensive bonus (19-47). Dupont is notably at the start of the action which leads to Paul Costes’ try, with a long, well-felt kick.
It’s obviously good news for Stade Toulousain to have its flagship player back. But Dupont is not the only number 9 of the Rouge et Noir to shine on Saturday evening. The holder, Paul Graou, also made a very clean copy.
Paul Graou, strong understudy of Antoine Dupont
Rugby Rama thus awarded a score of 7/10 to Paul Graou:
“On paper, Gerland’s ultra-fast synthetic seemed made for him. His partners helped him to shine, by confiscating all the balls from the Lyonnais, to allow him to run the game as he wished… Paul Graou thus enjoyed himself against a Baptiste Couilloud reduced to the bare minimum, to the point of scoring a pure try of 9 before the break, taking advantage of the protection of the post. A flash of well-deserved mischief for his self-sacrifice in quickly releasing the balls, and putting his teammates in good conditions. Note also that in his outings from camp, he was also very fair until his replacement by Antoine Dupont. »
Paul Graou had ensured a very long interim period with Dupont’s serious injury this year. He notably allowed his team to win a new Brennus shield last June. Being able to rely on these two elements is a luxury for Stade Toulousain.
