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Defense coach in England, Joe El-Abd, said the talent of Antoine Dupont was there “immediately” after observing half of the exceptional fray when the captain of France was a teenager.
El-Abd, the coach of the Castres attackers when Dupont made his way to Rugby Union at the French Club, now has the difficult task of trying to help England.
“I spent a few years with Antoine during his years of training,” El-Abd told journalists in Twickenham on Friday.
“We saw the talent he had at that time and now we see the fruits of all the work he has put on all over.”
The wide range of skills from Dupont, whether it is its ability to pass with the hand or to launch your foot, not to mention its superb defense, placed the half-keel of Toulouse in the pantheon of the big ones of all time.
– ‘Large boy’ –
But El-Abd explained that it was Dupont’s attitude, as much as his capacities, which made him stand out as a young person.
“I remember a lot,” said 44 -year -old English.
“He was already a big boy who wanted to work all the time and wanted to improve in his game. We saw that the talent was there right away, so he always had it, but aligned with the work he Met, it was always going to come at this time.
“He went to Toulouse, settled, and we now see seven last year (Dupont won Olympic gold), this experience, he added this to his game and he always goes from the Before.”
When asked if Dupont had already had a weakness, El-Abd replied: “No.
El-Abd, currently combining its role as England with a last season as a chief coach of the second French level Oyonnax club, is well aware of what is at stake.
“This is the big match for the French and for us,” the crunch “as they call it,” he said. “If you read the (French) press, it’s the big game.”
Dupont was entirely commanding when France opened the six nations with a 43-0 rout of Wales in Paris last week, while England lost 27-22 against the champions of Ireland-their seventh consecutive defeat by a leading nation.
The aggressive defense helped England led 10-5 to the break in Dublin, but the missed plates then turned out to be expensive while Ireland took the descent in the second period.
“More than a few times, I watched the match (Ireland)!” Said El-Abd.
“We have definitely taken a step forward … There were times in this first half when we were really proud of what we saw.
“In the second half, it was a little more difficult. We gave them a lot of opportunities to enter our 22 and our half. This is something that we have to examine.”
JDG / PI
