Antoine Dupont is fast becoming one of the greatest players in rugby history, but the French superstar still has too much to achieve before he can be considered the greatest of all time.
The gifted half-back may already be the greatest talent the game has ever seen, and in terms of playing ability, the magic that Dupont achieved on the rugby field in this era is unparalleled.
Dan Carter has delivered similarly mesmerising plays throughout his career, but for most of his career the game was evolving from the amateur level and the playing space was much larger than it is today.
With his players at their biggest, strongest and healthiest ever, DuPont has accomplished the unthinkable.
But talent and ability alone do not achieve greatness. Talent sets the bar for expectations, but it is what you do with that talent that matters.
Expectations for DuPont are already quite high.
There’s no doubt that DuPont has a long history of impressive accomplishments, but there are some glaring gaps that need to be addressed.
The country’s own priorities prevented Dupont from achieving further success in the international game.
Focusing on the league and the Top 14 is commercially beneficial for France, but it takes attention away from other parts of the international calendar.
Dupont takes July off for most seasons to rest his body after a gruelling league and European campaign.
France will be sending its second and third string players on an international tour in July, but Dupont has only travelled once in his career, when he had only just joined the national team as the third string’s number nine.
His only test appearance outside Europe was 24 minutes off the bench against the Springboks in South Africa in 2017, when he was part of the France team that lost 3-0 to a mediocre Springbok side.
Other great playmakers of the modern era – Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson and Jonny Sexton – all toured away from home, the latter two playing historic victories against the All Blacks on home soil that have become part of their legends.
Needless to say, New Zealanders and South Africans will never think of Dupont as the best player in the game unless he beats the two greatest nations in rugby history on home soil.
This is one of the biggest challenges on the international stage and avoiding it would unfortunately be a blemish on one’s career.
France is due to visit New Zealand in 2025, but Dupont is unlikely to visit.
With four Top 14 titles and two European crowns already under his belt, one would think this might be the year for Dupont and France to go after a historic result. With nothing left to achieve domestically, Dupont has a chance to truly become the greatest of all time.
The team that shocked the All Blacks in Dunedin in 2009 is still remembered for the fact that as a result, legends such as Sebastien Chabal earned huge respect from New Zealand rugby fans.
But if Dupont doesn’t take part in that tour, doesn’t come to New Zealand and beats the All Blacks, he’ll never be considered the best player.
Dupont may be considered a great player, an all-time talent, but it would certainly be hard to be considered the best without winning a Rugby World Cup.
France had a golden opportunity to win the title on their own soil in 2023, but once again the FFR, the management and coaching staff have caused the team to miss out.
The biggest blow came before the ball even bounced: France lost Romain Ntamack in a meaningless warm-up match against Scotland on the eve of the World Cup.
Though often overlooked because of Dupont’s individual talent, Ntamack was also a top-five player in the world. For the past two years, he was ranked in the top 10 in the world.
No team can lose a top 10 player in the world and not suffer the consequences, and France has lost Dupont’s right-hand man and one half of the dynamic Toulouse duo that was so crucial to France’s success.
Many of Dupont’s great plays were made possible through Ntamack’s involvement.
Mathieu Jalibert’s sensational performance in the quarter-final against South Africa highlighted just how crucial Ntamack’s absence was.
In addition to his Rugby World Cup winners’ medal, Dupont has some further individual accolades to add to his collection. He has been nominated twice for the Men’s 15s Football Player of the Year award, winning it once in 2021.
He was originally due to receive the award in 2020 but it wasn’t awarded, so the fact remains that he has one award and Richie McCaw and Dan Carter have three each.
McCaw was nominated five more times but never won; Carter was nominated twice.
All things considered, and compared side by side, Antoine Dupont may be the best player in France’s history, but he is certainly not the best in the world.
He may be the best player the world has ever seen, but he won’t be the greatest of all time unless a few more things are met.