France captain Antoine Dupont caught the eye with a sublime all-round performance, leading his side to a 36-17 win over Scotland in Edinburgh, earning himself the Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match award.
Dupont was a constant threat all match, and his break in the first half that started the move leading to Paul Willemse’s try showed exactly why he was named World Rugby’s Player of the Year for 2021.
The scrum-half made 64 metres from just five carries, sniping around the breakdown, and keeping the Scottish defence under pressure throughout.
FRANCE IMPRESS ON THE WAY TO DOMINANT WIN IN SCOTLAND
He was also excellent defensively, making 13 tackles, including a big hit on opposite number Ali Price, showing the strength of the Toulouse No.9.
“There is a lot of satisfaction to take from this match. We had a very good start and then we gave them a few easy points,” said Dupont, after leading Les Bleus to their first win in Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations for eight years.
“They came back but despite two or three mistakes from us, we didn’t panic.
“Morale was always good, even if there were some shaky moments, we stuck together as a group throughout the match which paid off in the end.
AS IT HAPPENED: SCOTLAND V FRANCE
“We didn’t have very good memories here at BT Murrayfield. We know how important all the matches are in the tournament, especially away games.
“We’ve got one more in a fortnight [in Wales], so we’re going to prepare well for that too.
“There were moments when we almost felt like we were at the Stade de France, the Marseillaise was very loud, we felt well supported and it felt good as soon as we got on the bus.
“The Scottish crowd is incredible, even when trailing they continued to support their team.”
