Joys of scoring written large on Dupont’s face

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

What’s happening here?

It’s October 22, 2016 and in his last season for Castres the future 2021 world player of the year Antoine Dupont has come off the bench to round off a crushing 41-7 win over Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup with a brilliant individual try.

What is the story behind the picture?

Dupont was an exceptional talent right from his junor days with Auch and although he was making his way with Castres – no mean operators themselves – whenever you visited the club there was always this understanding that fame and fortune with Toulouse was his ultimate destiny. There was no angst about this, nobody begrudged him, it was written in the stars.

Castres didn’t overplay him – they had France scrum-half and the club’s best goal kicker Rory Kockott – so for much of the time we were restricted to tantalizing, always brilliant, cameos off the bench from the teenage Dupont. All concerned seemed very patient, for once an obvious star of the future wasn’t being rushed into the limelight. Like a fine wine he was being given time to mature.

What happened next?

Where do you start. As was always the plan, he soon moved onto Toulouse where he quickly became the totem pole player of that historic club and transformed a side that had been underperforming in the Top 14 and Europe for a few years. Not only did Dupont provide much needed stardust, he was also the catalyst as everybody else raised their games, and of course there were other stellar talents adding to the equation such as Romain Ntamack.

“Every picture of Dupont in the act of scoring is accompanied by this smile”

It all came together very quickly, so much so that last season they won both the French Championship and the European Champions Cup, and what’s more did it in trademark Toulouse style, that mix of forward brutality but mesmerising back and link play. At Test level the trophies have not yet come but the change in attitude and approach has been marked and the French fans have started believing again, a process which culminated when Dupont skippered that side to a glorious win over the All Blacks last month.Where will it all end?

Why is the picture iconic?

This might not seem the most obvious image to depict the genius of Dupont, although in fairness you could spend a full day going through the archives and still struggle to make your final choice, but I love this picture by Dave Rogers on a number of counts.

First, like the rest of the rugby world, I have watched Dupont closely since he first started coming off the bench for Castres when their games were either won or lost and the first thing you noticed is that he doesn’t smile. Except when he is scoring, when his face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning.

Dupont more than any modern-day player has a “game face” –I wouldn’t call it intense but there is never any wavering of concentration or unnecessary emotion. He is always on the case and in the zone. He doesn’t get distracted, I can’t remember any needless chat, sledging, opposition baiting or trying to curry favour with referees. He operates at a level way above that. He gets targeted and late tackled while France and Toulouse invariably look to him in moments of crisis but he just remorselessly gets on with the business of being brilliant.

You might be excused for thinking he is an emotionless robot but the exact opposite is the case. Dupont is deeply, passionately and hopelessly in love with the game – always has been – and scoring tries is the ultimate consummation of that relationship.

Every picture I have seen of Dupont in the act of scoring is accompanied by this smile. Every post match tweet is one of celebration and enjoying the moment, smelling the roses.

And in that way it’s a great generic shot for rugby generally… this is what it’s all about, the joie de vie. This is why you play. Dupont is the life and soul of the Toulouse and France teams, he is besotted by the game. Playing and scoring excites him every time.

And there is another thing which you notice when studying dozens of images of Dupont as I have this week. Although there are plenty of shots of him getting mixed up in the melee and hurly burly – and pound for pound he is the toughest, strongest player I have ever seen in modern times – more often than not there is a massive sense of space, freedom and time when Dupot is involved.

Defenders can’t get to him – can’t lay a bloody hand on the little blighter! – while his natural genius, despite his strength and ability to ride tackles and hand off opponents twice his size – is always to seek out space and operate in the wide pastures, running those incredible tracking lines to effortlessly pop up everywhere and anywhere.

All this rather heightens the subliminal feeling that he breathes a different air to the rest of us, that as a rugby player he is from another planet.

Footnote: I’ve got a fiver on him winning the 2022 world player of the year award as well.