It was a fabulous team effort from France in completing the Grand Slam as well as winning their first Guinness Six Nations title for 12 years, with Antoine Dupont simply majestic from scrum-half.
The 2020 Guinness Six Nations Player of the Championship is in the reckoning for individual honours again following a series of stellar displays as captain of Les Bleus.
His crowing moment came on the night the French sealed the clean sweep when his superbly-taken try, at a time when England were threatening a comeback, put the hosts 25-13 ahead and effectively uncatchable.
It was one of many moments where Dupont stood up on a momentous night at the Stade de France, where the 25-year-old was seemingly omnipresent, whether the hosts were in possession or out of it.
Dupont’s coup de grace meant he finished the 2022 Guinness Six Nations with two tries, two Player of the Match awards, 238 metres gained and 13 defenders beaten.
Here is how the World Rugby Player of the Year lived up to his billing in Rugby’s Greatest Championship once again…
Dupont, of course, is a player whose creativity means he is just as likely to send a teammate clear as he is to cross the whitewash himself and he claimed his first try assist of the Championship in the 37-10 victory over Italy on the opening weekend.
It came when he exchanged passes with Damien Penaud to help France secure the bonus point, one of 65 passes the maestro at No.9 made that afternoon – and he wasn’t even at his best.
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In what turned out to be the pivotal 30-24 victory against Ireland at the Stade de France in Round 2, Dupont was simply irrepressible.
He set the tone when he sliced through off Romain Ntamack’s pass for the game’s opening try with just over a minute played and another big contribution was needed with the match in the balance.
The Irish had stormed back in the second half, but Dupont’s speed of service paid dividends yet again as he sent prop Cyril Baille barging over.
France’s attacking prowess was there for all to see when they brushed off Scotland by defeating them 36-17 at BT Murrayfield in Round 3, with Dupont the spark at the base of the ruck yet again.
However, it was another side of his game that was showcased in Edinburgh, as he made 13 tackles, the second-highest amount of any French player that afternoon.
For once, Dupont was kept relatively quiet as France moved to within one more win of the Grand Slam by edging past Wales 13-9 during a tense night at the Principality Stadium.
There were no nerves from Les Bleus, however, when England came to Paris in what was the final game of the 2022 Six Nations and Dupont arguably saved his best until last.
We have already mentioned his try on the hour mark, a typical thrust through the middle from Gregory Alldritt’s offload, but this was only part of a fantastic Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match performance.
All night, Dupont ensured the French received good, quick ball from the breakdown, seemingly appearing from nowhere at times, while he also made 12 tackles to help ensure there was no way back for England.
It was fitting that the man who lifted the Championship trophy was the man who has become the face of France’s revival of recent years and one who, yet again, has made a strong case of being its best player.
