‘He’s always had it’ – England prepare for Dupont brilliance

Guinness Men’s Six Nations: England v France

Date: Saturday, 8 February Kick-off: 16: 45 GMT Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

Since collaborating with the France captain as a teenager, England defense coach Joe El-Abd claims Dupont has been on a path to greatness.

El-Abd spent four years coaching at Castres, which also happened when Dupont started to rank among the top 14.

We were aware of his destination. It was spoken about in the dressing room, even in France, that there was a player coming through that was going to be something a bit different”, said El-Abd on Friday.

“We immediately recognized the talent.” So it has always been his case, but it always aligned with the work he does.

Dupont, 28, set up three tries in France’s 43-0 opening-round win over Wales and his side are heavy favourites for Saturday’s meeting with England at Allianz Stadium.

El-Abd says that England need to dig deep mentally, as well as physically, to contain a France side that also carries the threat of in-form Bordeaux-Begles wings Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle Biarrey.

” Their attack is pretty complete, they have got threats all over the pitch, “he added.

Wing Tommy Freeman will be conscious of Dupont’s ability to expose over-eager defences with cross-field kicks, but insists England should not be in awe of the talismanic scrum-half.

” You can’t overestimate how good a player he is, but he’s human. He’s like everyone else – you take his legs and he goes down, “Freeman said.

It’s all about putting pressure on him and picking up the pieces on him early.

One of Dupont’s greatest assets was his ability to turn the tables on a defense, launch attacks when he appeared to be losing possession and territory, according to England attack coach and former scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth.

“I’ve never seen anyone get out of trouble as well as him”, said Wigglesworth.

“The ball will bobble out of a ruck, and it’s not perfect, but he somehow gets a ball popped out when he shouldn’t do. He rarely gets tackled, and the ball rarely stays static.

” He will bounce out, beat three defenders and put a cross-kick in. Or he’ll shrug you off and keep the ball moving. “

France are aiming for a fourth straight victory over England in the tournament, which would be their best start since 1978.