Six Nations: Antoine Dupont confirms ruptured cruciate ligaments in France's emphatic 42-27 win over Ireland in Dublin
Updated 09/03/2025 at 18:30 GMT
Antoine Dupont confirmed he had ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee during France's Six Nations victory over Ireland on Saturday. The scrum-half was forced off injured in the first half of the encounter, which Les Bleus ultimately won 42-27. Dupont admitted that while his "heart hurts" from the injury setback, he was happy with his side's "accomplishments" at the Aviva Stadium.
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France skipper Antoine Dupont ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee during his side’s Six Nations victory over Ireland on Saturday.
The scrum-half, named World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year in 2021, was forced off in the 29th minute of the encounter after Ireland second row Tadhg Beirne fell on his leg.
Writing on social media, Dupont said: "The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your friends before the last step.
"I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and with all my strength with you, you will do it.
"Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the beginning of a new challenge, I'll see you in a few months on the field."
Dupont’s replacement Maxime Lucu impressed as Les Bleus moved into pole position for Six Nations glory with an emphatic 42-27 win.
A win over Scotland next week at the Stade de France would likely see France secure their first Six Nations title since 2022.
France 'anger' over Dupont incident
France head coach Fabien Galthie admitted on Saturday there was "anger" in the French camp over the incident that led to Dupont’s injury.
He added that Dupont was "suffering" and that he had referred Ireland pair Beirne and Andrew Porter to the citing commissioner.
"He [Dupont] is suffering, let's say it how it is," Galthie said in his post-match press conference. "I don't want to go into details, mainly due to medical confidentiality.
"We have cited two players, Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter, in our post-match report.
"We have highlighted [Calvin] Nash to the citing commissioner for [the incident with] Pierre-Louis Barassi, who did not respond well to the HIA protocol. We had players who never came back on.
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"We are angry and we want an explanation; so, we have cited two players. We must protect our players. There are rules, regulations... there's a sort of anger.
"I do not want to pass judgement on the quality of refereeing today."
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