Dupont confirms he ruptured knee ligaments in Ireland win

France skipper Antoine Dupont has confirmed he ruptured the cruciate ligaments in his knee during the stunning Six Nations win against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

Scrum-half Dupont – widely regarded as the world’s best player – was helped from the pitch in the 29th minute after suffering serious knee damage at the Aviva Stadium.

In a post on X, Dupont said: “The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your friends before the last step. I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and with all my strength with you, you will do it.

“Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the beginning of a new challenge, I’ll see you in a few months on the field.”

France were furious with the incident which caused the injury and intend to refer Ireland pair Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

Les Bleus held a narrow 8-6 lead at the interval before blitzing their Guinness Six Nations title rivals – following the restart – to move into pole position for championship glory with a crushing 42-27 win.

France head coach Fabien Galthie labelled the Irish clear-out on Dupont as “reprehensible”, calling for second row Beirne and prop Porter to be cited.

Talisman Dupont limped off in the first half, with referee Angus Gardner ruling the cause of the injury as an unfortunate rugby incident, and so not foul play.

On replays, Dupont’s leg appeared to be inadvertently trapped in a ruck as Beirne – with Porter in close attendance – entered to remove him as a breakdown threat.

Galthie was extremely strong on the incident post-match.

“We felt bad for Antoine Dupont. On the act [ruck clear-out], which is in my opinion reprehensible, there are ways to study and look at this act. We felt very bad for him. He is suffering, we are suffering with him,” Galthie told France 2 at full-time.

Galthie added at his post-match press conference: “For Antoine, there is suspicion of a fairly serious knee injury. I won’t go into details due to medical confidentiality, but Antoine is suffering.

“We have recommended players to appear before the Six Nations disciplinary committee: Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter. Calvin Nash has also been recommended for the Pierre-Louis Barassi [high tackle] because he did not respond favorably to the HIA protocol.

“Our players did not return to the pitch. We would like to understand why. On this issue, we are angry.

“We want to protect our players, there are rules. The citing commissioner must study the actions and decide if they are reprehensible or not. Neither Antoine nor Pierre-Louis returned to the pitch. One for a clear-out, the other for a [head] contact.

“When Antoine Dupont has to go off, we bring on Max Lucu, in whom we have total confidence. He was fantastic. He took control of the game and made a very, very high-level return. I’m very happy for Max.”

What’s next?

Ireland complete their championship away to Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome next Saturday, March 15 (2.15pm kick-off). France host Scotland in their last game s they play the final Test of three on Saturday, March 15 (8pm kick-off).