It’s close but Dupont edges out Edwards
RUGBY MATTERS
A weekly look at the game’s other talking points
Your columnist fell in love with rugby watching Gareth Edwards in the 1970s and renewed that rather flagging love affair in recent years when Antoine Dupont burst onto scene. So this current media vogue – necessity almost – to definitively declare one as the “the greatest” is tricky but frankly I’m reluctant to miss out on the fun! So here’s my take, my bleacher’s report to borrow from our American cousins. I score it Dupont by a whisker but feel free to cheer or jeer as you see fit.
Strike running and try scoring: Edwards is the boss here. He was a GB junior 200m hurdles record holder – he once defeated future European 400m hurdles champion Alan Pascoe – and before you consider any other rugby qualities, he was a strike runner of the very top order. Think of that try against France in 1971, his extraordinary effort against Scotland a year later and of course the finale to that Barbarians try. Dupont is also a prolific scorer of tries – 11 for France so far with power to add and 62 in 183 Top 14 and European games for Toulouse. He has perfected that cheat line that nines run in support of those carrying out wide, so much so it is now called the Dupont line even though many used it before. He just does it better. Basically though, he is a creator of tries and facilitator, drawing the attention of panicky defences before off-loading.
Kicking game? High scoring draw. Edwards is the last player I can remember who consistently employed driven grubbers as his touch finder of choice. It was a remarkable skill and I recall him rolling back the years and demonstrating it again to a group of young players at a Lions clinic out the back of Kings Park in 2009. There was a noise like a rifle shot as he made contact, and the ball went scudding and bouncing low along the ground. Glorious.
Edwards utilised such kicks back in the day because scrum-halves were not a protected species and were normally being harried by a possee of offside flankers. Time was very limited. It’s a skill that needs reviving though, he used to gain acres of ground employing it and it was a high percentage tactic.
Even if he missed, the wildly bobbing ball was incredibly difficult to field close to the touchline. No downsides.
Dupont is a brilliant kicker as well, off both feet as it happens which exasperates opposition defences conjuring unthinkable 50:22s from thin air, out manoeuvring full-backs with disdain. His box kicks are nigh on perfect, not that France overuse that tactic, and his touchfinders long and sure. Both were or are occasional goal kickers although neither would make any great claims in this respect.
Defence: Dupont is untouchable. Many have commented on his incredible strength and he demonstrates that constantly in defence. We saw him get down and dirty and win three or was it four turnovers in the Champions Cup final against Leinster, we see him deck opposition forwards with impunity and of course we saw him defy known physical norms by holding up Mack Hansen over the line and then driving him back when the Ireland wing was in full flight and simply had to fall to the ground to score.
Edwards made more than his fair share of tackles but I don’t recall the match changing defensive contributions that are the weekly norm for Dupont. Perhaps Wales were more dominant, and they weren’t required so much?
Passing: Pretty much equal but perhaps Dupont by a whisker, Edwards was one of the first proponents of the long spin pass and when it worked it was a sight to behold and gave Barry John and Phil Bennett extra seconds to work their magic. There were days however when it bounced off in all directions like a Barnes Wallis protype. Edwards also, like most scrum-halves who learned the game in the 60s and early 70s, successfully deployed the dive pass which again was to combat those pesky flankers who lived offside and made life impossible. This pass now seems as dead as the dodo.
Dupont’s passing is close to perfect. Incredibly quick and accurate even when burrowing into a frantic ruck. Can you ever remember him fumbling the ball in such situations. He has a sumptuous long pass when required but that is not France’s modus operandi with the ten usually standing close, leaving more space to work with on the outside.
Like most modern day nines the flick pass using his incredibly strong wrists is his staple. As is also the modern way he has a large array of no look passes, round the corner flicks and basketball tap ons.
Hand off: Dead level. Absolutely lethal both of them. They should have been boxers.
Sevens: Edwards came to prominence as a prodigious schoolboy sevens player with Millfield but played rarely thereafter. His Wales seven was defeated by England in the semi-finals of the 1973 World Invitation sevens at Murrayfield. Dupont hardly played as a youngster but took a notion to play in this summer’s Olympic games and has been a massive presence in the three World Series tournaments he had played this year, France winning two and reaching the final in the other. He has transformed a good into an excellent squad.
Consistency: This is the decider for me. I have never ever seen Dupont have less than an 8.5 out of ten game in nine years of watching him. He doesn’t ration or regulate his genius, it’s absolutely ever-present you get the full Monty every time he takes a rugby pitch and for the full 80 minutes. He’s in action 11 months of the year and if you were being brutally objective he is man-of-thematch in just about every game he plays. What’s more, much of that in recent years with Toulouse and France has been achieved while also skippering the side. Such responsibility encumbers him not a jot.
For me Edwards’ highest highs (1971-1976) possibly, marginally, excel Dupont’s highest highs thus far but Edwards had the occasional sans jour when the force wasn’t quite with him. The early years with Wales were hard graft and he didn’t always shine, the 1968 Lions tour to South Africa didn’t go as well as some hoped, by his own account Sid Going got the better of him during Wales’ tour to New Zealand in 1969 and throughout his Test career he could ‘only’ reflect on two wins in eight Tests against the All Blacks. He also discovered captaincy, at Test level, was not for him.
In short there were small dips with Edwards whereas I haven’t yet detected a dip with Dupont. Will the second half of his career be so glorious? It’s a valid question and perhaps we should “wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was”, as one of those Greek philosopher blokes once said.
