Dupont is looking to take a sabbatical
Antoine Dupont could take a sabbatical year after the 2024 Olympic Games, reports in France suggest.
The France captain, 26, is looking ahead to an overwhelmingly busy 12 months, and has indicated that he would be keen to follow up a tilt at the World Cup this year, with a shot at Olympic gold in Paris in summer 2024.
After that, however, he is considering some well-deserved time out – either a complete break from the game during the 2024/25 season, or a lucrative short spell in Japan.
Local newspaper La Depeche du Midi, which broke the story, went on to suggest that Toulouse may again raid near rivals Castres Olympique for a ready-made replacement, after picking up Dupont and Anthony Jelonch from the Tarn club in recent seasons – and also signing Joe Tekori and Puila Fa'asalele earlier in the 2010s.
Their target? Santiago Arata, who has entered the final year of his contract at Stade Pierre Fabre, and is – reportedly – yet to respond to a new two-year deal already on the table.
The 26-year-old Uruguay international, currently training for the World Cup, is hot property in France. Stade Francais tried – and failed – to prise him out of the last year of his current deal, meeting short shrift from Castres' management, who are determined to keep hold of one of their stars for as long as possible.
It's certain the Paris club will try again now they're free to approach the player's agents directly, and Castres' offer to keep hold of their player for another two years includes, reports say, a significant pay rise. Players like Arata – who tormented Toulouse in the 2022 Top 14 semi-finals in Nice – aren't on the market long, so the current champions will have to move decisively, and early, if Dupont does decide to take a break.
