As expected, Antoine Dupont will make his comeback with Stade Toulouse during Sunday’s clash against UBB.
Two weeks after its failure in Perpignan, ending in a 27-17 defeat, Stade Toulouse deserves another trip to resume the top 14. This time, it is in Bordeaux that the French champions are expected. Day 19 and Rouge et Noir will be able to rely on the return of many of their internationals, having been busy in recent weeks at the Six Nations tournament.
“International players will be in traffic and applying for matches in Bordeaux, such as for the next match against Pau”, Clement Poitrenaud explained at a press conference on Friday, adding: “The idea is to rebuild a group. They will be used for these two matches, maybe not at the same time, but what is certain is that they will take their holidays later. » There is no doubt when the Champions Cup bracket opens against Racing on April 6. In Bordeaux, Thomas Ramos, Julien Marchand and Thibaud Flament will be on deck, Cyril Belle, Francois Cros, Emmanuel Mefau will start on the bench.
DuPont returned as planned but…
But the most notable return is apparently that of Antoine Dupont. A month and a half after his last appearance with Stade Toulouse, against Bayonne (46-26), the scrum half is indeed in the group. As expected, though, the Toulouse number 9 will have to be content with the replacement role. “After a short week of vacation in California, I return to the Top 14 on March 24 with Bordeaux-bagels,” He exuded confidence as he explored his new world with the French sevens team last month.
This first transition from XV to VII was also a success as after only two weeks of training, Antoine Dupont tasted the podium in Vancouver during his baptism in rugby sevens and then took part in the French team’s historic coronation in Los Angeles, a first victory. Blues since 2005. The former Castres had time to recover thanks to a two-week vacation provided by Toulouse staff, the first of which was spent in Los Angeles specifically with rapper Olly.
