"How do you stop Dupont?" – England's Richard Wigglesworth addresses the big question ahead of Six Nations clash
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England take on France in the second round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations this Saturday, and assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth was quizzed with the question on every England fan’s mind. At the centre of ‘Le Crunch’ will be French scrum half maestro Antoine Dupont, with England’s mission objective being to stop the man considered by many, to be the best player in the world.
“Been asked this a few times today – how do you stop Dupont?” Wigglesworth said, in this afternoon’s England media session. “I think if someone had that answer, they'd be a very rich man or they’d be in charge of a team that doesn’t lose. If you just go after one man, which I’m sure teams have done before, then they play tight down the middle and someone else gets an offload.
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“So you need to take away a bit of time and space and momentum from him which is easier said than done. Because he’s good in tight spaces off no momentum but you can imagine how they come alive off the speed and momentum. So we need to take that away from him to limit the chances.”
England’s Alex Mitchell is expected to go head-to-head with Dupont this Saturday, with the Northampton Saints man even expressing how impressed he was by the French magician this past weekend. Mitchell was taken aback by how Dupont led France’s landslide 43-0 win over Wales, in the Parisian tournament opener.
Mitchell discussed how the Toulouse skipper is one such man whom he attempts to emulate in some areas of his game, yet Wigglesworth addressed how England won’t be trying any ‘Antoine Dupont moves’ this Saturday at the Allianz.
“I think the question of bringing an idea into camp would be welcomed with open arms. Then it would have to suit our skill set, what does the training time look like, who’s the opposition, does it suit playing those? So all those things would be taken into account massively.
“But the players know that this is their team. If you’re in a team and you’ve got an idea, then you're expected to come forward, as they will do. In terms of the specifics of trying to bring in an Antoine Dupont move, that would be a non-event of what that would look like.”
After an almighty opening round win at the expense of Wales, France are backing up the claims of being Six Nations front-runners, as Galthie looks to prise the Irish hands from the trophy after two years in possession. France last lifted the Six Nations title in 2022, and Dupont was at the forefront of that triumphant campaign that secured glory in the Stade de France.
As a former scrum half who is no stranger to silverware, Wigglesworth expressed the elements of Dupont’s game that impress him the most. The multi-time Premiership and Champions Cup winner had an abundance of praise for the France captain, as the old adage of ‘game recognizes game’ ringing true ahead of the Twickenham Test.
“As a scrum-half, what do I admire about him the most? He kicks off both feet, he's strong, competitive, he makes good decisions, but it's his ability to get out of trouble. I've never seen anything like it.
“The ball will bobble out of a ruck, and it's not perfect, but he somehow gets a ball popped out when he shouldn't do and then rarely gets tackled, and the ball rarely stays static. He will bounce out, beat three defenders and put a cross-kick in. Or will shrug you off, keep the ball moving. I've never seen anyone get out of trouble so well as him.”
“There will be instinct, physical ability. There will be some much that goes into the ability to do that. He's an incredible athlete with great feel. That is what makes him a great. It's not one thing, or 'it's this he's really good at'. You don't get talked about like he does without being such an all-round player.”
Whilst Dupont justifiably takes the headlines, there is no downplaying the talent at his disposal in the French back-line. An all-star cast of Toulouse and Bordeaux’s finest will take shape against England this Saturday, and Wigglesworth recognised the need to nullify Dupont’s offload option, and reduce the rapid-fire distribution to his outside backs. When asked on how England will face up defensively, Wigglesworth said;
“A little bit of what we expected from last season. They still kick the ball incredibly long, are very efficient in their own half, trying to create transitions to play really quick from offloading. Obviously playing off Dupont the majority of the time until they have space.
“They have a very, very effective set piece that doesn’t get talked about, maul a massive amount and are very good at it. So those things would be similar, but it was the level it was at that was very high.”
“Against really good teams, if you make basic errors and give away penalties then you're going to be in your own half more than you should be. In the first half and then into the second we ended up giving them, a really good team, loads of field position and loads of chances. We defended manfully (against Ireland), but if you keep giving them shots, and this is them earning those shots as well, then you're going to end up on the wrong end of the scoreboard because you're giving top teams chances.”
It’s not just on the attacking front were France and Dupont excel, as Les Bleus had the number of any Welsh attacker in the nil-point shut-out. The former Leicester Tigers and Saracens man expressed his thoughts on France’s defensive accumen, which once again, is spearheaded by their magnificent nine.
“They obviously had a good read on what Wales were going to do shape-wise. It will be really interesting to know after the game have they seen Wales go to this as it's different to Wales have been – with deeper shapes out the back – or has he just read it as he's a really smart player and he's gone 'I know I can shut this down'. He just has impacts all over the field.”
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