Triste: Antoine Dupont se perderá el Seis Naciones para formar parte del equipo de Seven de Francia para los Juegos Olímpicos de París del próximo verano…

good sevens player, that is what a world-class player brings,” adds Barraque, while former England and Great Britain stalwart Richard de Carpentier feels his addition could improve France even if Dupont himself is not at his best.

he hadn’t much time, but he was a very good sevens player, that is what a world-class player brings,” adds Barraque, while former England and Great Britain stalwart Richard de Carpentier feels his addition could improve France even if Dupont himself is not at his best.

Antoine Dupont
Dupont is likely to find the transition to Seven tough and the XVs side will more than likely miss him CREDIT: Getty Images/Aurelien Meunier
“Everyone was targeting Sonny Bill and I can imagine that happening to Dupont but that can be used as a positive to give other players space,” says de Carpentier

If Dupont is going to get up to speed he will have to do so the hard way. Sevens is moving into a new era with the World Series rebranded as HSBC SVNS, with the European leg being held in Madrid so it is in the unlikely rugby surrounds of Los Angeles and Vancouver that he will have to learn the ropes.

If he does so then expect Dupont to

An hour or so after France’s exit from the Rugby World Cup, Antoine Dupont sat in the press conference room in the bowels of the Stade de France in a pose that bore a striking resemblance to French sculptor Rodin’s The Thinker. The pain of that one-point quarter-final defeat to South Africa was writ large on Dupont’s battle-scarred face, but as he looks ahead now, it is the same stadium – and perhaps the same opponent – that gives him the chance to purge the hurt that was so clear to see.

It has been confirmed that Dupont, widely considered the best player in the world, will be missing the Six Nations to be part of France’s sevens squad for next summer’s Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old had hoped it would be part of a “Golden Slam” alongside World Cup, Six Nations, Champions Cup and Top 14 honours, but instead it may serve to balm the wounds of the past month.

There are words of warning, however. Sevens and XV-a-side rugby serve as brothers, but they are very different and adapting will be complicated and nuanced.

“Dupont may be the best player in XVs but he won’t be in sevens,” laughs Jean-Pascal Barraque, who will be a team-mate of Dupont’s as France go for gold. “Our coach Jerome Daret describes sevens as ‘the Formula 1 of rugby’ and Antoine will have to adjust”. Can Dupont become a Ferrari? “We will need to prepare him to become one…” he says with a Gallic shrug.

Dupont’s selection is not a certainty. The French sevens system includes a mix of centrally contracted sevens specialists and others, such as Barraque, who are released by their Top 14 clubs. The Perpignan player explains: “I already know I can do the transition because I know all the tactics and the boys. I have no doubt he will be very good because of his passing, kicking, his vision but he will have to get used to the speed and how painful it is. We play games on Saturday and then wake up with so much pain in our bodies on Sunday and we have to play again.”

There is little doubt that Dupont’s addition to the side will create huge interest, with Telegraph Sport understanding that organisers are hopeful he will be a face of the Olympics alongside Kylian Mbappe, if the football superstar is cleared to take part.

Barraque welcomes the comparison, saying: “It is good because Dupont is the best player in world rugby and Mbappe is becoming the best player in football. It is different for Dupont because he hasn’t played sevens before but it is normal for them to want those famous guys. The comparison is good because football is so much more popular and that can only help the visibility of rugby. Dupont is so famous that maybe Mbappe knows him? That