Dupont dares to dream of Grand Slam after France overcome Wales

By Sports Desk March 12, 2022

France captain Antoine Dupont said his side are embracing the spotlight surrounding next Saturday's fixture against England to complete the Six Nations Grand Slam.

Les Blues have only completed the Grand Slam once since 2004 – in 2010 – while more recently Ireland achieved the feat in 2018, followed by Wales in 2019.
 
After beating Wales 13-9, Dupont spoke about the strength of the French defence and its ability to win tough contests, before looking forward to the big clash against England.
 
"We felt that we could count on our defense," he said. "They often came to our camp with our faults and their long kicking game. 
 
"We were able to cope, and it's something that has carried us for several matches – we have to continue on that. 

"It wasn't the most beautiful match we've had to watch, but you have to know how to win like that too. 
 
"We try to turn this pressure into motivation – we said we wanted to have the cards in hand for the last match, it's done. 
 
"We will be able to devote ourselves fully to it and we hope that it will work. The party tonight is going to be very light. We're going to wait a week and hope to be able to party.
 
"In the dressing room, there was a mix of emotions, joy and pride intertwined, but with the England game in the back of my mind. 
 
"We're going to enjoy tonight, but we're all looking forward to Saturday night [against England]. 
 
"The Grand Slam? From now on, we can talk about it. 
 
"It's going to be on everyone's lips and in the media this week. It's up to us to make sure we win this match, and we know what will come of it."

England are still in contention to win the Six Nations, but they must beat Ireland in Saturday's clash at Twickenham.

Related items

  • 'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi 'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi

    South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

    The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.

    The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.

    Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation. 

    "We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.

    "We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.

    "They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."

    All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.

    "Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.

    "There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.

    "We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."

    South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup. 

  • Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa

    Joe Schmidt said he cannot recall ever being involved in a more "bizarre" Test as his Australia side were downed 30-12 by South Africa in the Rugby Championship.

    Malcolm Marx touched down twice for the Springboks in rainy Perth to make it two from two in the tournament but the Wallabies were hit by a swathe of injuries.

    Front-row pair Allan Alaalatoa and Angus Bell were unable to return for the second half and scrums went uncontested after replacement prop James Slipper failed a head injury assessment.

    The Wallabies even went down to 14 briefly when hooker Josh Nasser went off injured, though they did return to a full 15.

    Reflecting on the unfortunate series of events, head coach Schmidt told Stan Sport: "It's probably one of the most bizarre games I've ever been involved in.

    "In over 100 Test matches that I've been involved in I've never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips got a head knock right after half-time.

    "And then we were straight down. And then we played with 14 for a period of time before the officials worked out that we were still entitled to have a full pack because of the HIA.

    "But I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been, and I know it could have been as easy to say, but it could have been 12-11 at half-time and that would have been a massive lift for the boys."

    Australia are winless through their first two matches, both against the Springboks, and will next face Argentina in La Plata on August 31.

  • Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies

    Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.

    After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.

    Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.

    Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.

    They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.

    Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend. 

    Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run

    South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.

    Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.