XV of France: Dupont “can be an example for everyone”, launches Thierry Henry

Present at a press conference to prepare for the French Espoir team's match against Cyprus on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., Thierry Henry paid tribute to the performance of the French XV, eliminated in the quarter-final against South Africa ( 28-29): “I watched the first half without speaking. I was stressed, I know that a champion who is affected can come back in the second half. A team like South Africa goes into its comfort zone when it is not well. This is where you see a champion,” he initially judged. Before continuing: “It’s annoying. And I think we were all sad for them. But proud of everyone, really, because what they did is extraordinary. Standing up to South Africa is not easy. That's why I remained calm almost the entire match. But at the end, on the last possession, I had trouble staying calm.

The Bleuets coach also wanted to look back on the obstacle course that Antoine Dupont faced to be able to play this meeting: “I would also like to talk about Dupont anyway. It's not good to take out a player but he is extraordinary. I think this can be an example for everyone, for Warren (Zaire-Emery, editor’s note). He farts in his face, he comes back and it's him who launched all the attacks, he stopped everyone, he tackled, he put his head in... And then see him cry at the end. There was everything, he showed us that he was human, that he was a warrior.”

Before continuing: “The French team thank you, the coach thank you but Dupont, frankly hats off. Because donating your body for science, whether in the hospital or in the field, is not always easy because there will be after-effects of all that. He put his body forward for his team and his country. For me, when I see a team struggling, there's really nothing to say. Yes there were small mistakes, ok, but you lost against South Africa by one point. It’s infuriating, really infuriating.” A feeling shared by 60 million French people.