Rugby 7s: “We all know that the ultimate goal is the Olympic Games,” says Antoine Dupont after the Blues’ coronation in Madrid

You wrote the history of French rugby sevens by becoming the first team to win this world title. How does that feel?

We are super proud for us and the group. For all those who have been part of this French team in recent years. There have been seasons more complicated than this one and we also get paid thanks to the work that has been done for years. Jerome (Daret, the coach), he’s been there for seven years and he works hard with his staff. There are players who have been there for just as long too. I think of Steph (Stephen Parez Edo Martin)to Paulin (Riva, the captain)in Mazz’ (Thibaud Mazzoleni), which have been there for a long time. These are the efforts and the reward of an entire group, of all the work of several years.

Three rugby sevens tournaments, three medals including two victories, that’s it, are you adopted by Sevens?

For the moment things are going pretty well. But hey, we all know where the ultimate goal is. It’s very good because we have to pay ourselves for the efforts we make and that they made without me. But we know why we train, why we do these tournaments: it’s for the Games. But for the moment, it’s ultra-positive. We have a lot of fun, we win matches and we win tournaments. Let’s hope it continues.

What we’re doing is working.

What does this world title bring to your path towards the dream of an Olympic gold medal?

It brings confidence, motivation and meaning to everything we have done so far. That means that we are right and that we have to continue working because there are almost two months until the Games and the other teams will be working too. But what we’re doing is working. So I repeat, it’s more confidence. And I think now everyone wants to prepare and train hard to compete for the Games.

This tournament also makes you realize that you are capable of winning against the very best nations…

Of course, and it was important to be able to win at least one tournament before arriving at the Games. We did it in Los Angeles, we weren’t far away in Hong Kong. In Singapore it was a little more complicated but we had to show that we were capable of competing with these teams in matches that matter and in moments that matter, like during this final tournament, which is in fact the most important of the year. We responded so we are able to be there in the big meetings and I hope that we will be too in some time.

You are also joining the ranks of French team sports teams ready to shine during these Olympics. What does it feel like to be able to go to this party with these expectations?

It will be an immense pride if I am part of this Games team. This is my objective, I announced it from the start. This Olympic dream is something that is quite unusual in rugby. But we all know the excitement it generates. It is the biggest sporting competition in the world. We are lucky to receive it in Paris, at home, it happens once every 100 years, so we really have to make the most of all these moments but we must not let ourselves be overwhelmed either. ‘stake. We really have to take advantage and give everything from tomorrow so as not to have regrets.

The team’s mental strength was more than convincing this weekend.

What changed between the defeat against the Argentines on Saturday (26-12) and this final won on Sunday (19-5)?

I think that Saturday and Sunday have nothing to do with it. Saturday, we were a little feverish and not too into it I have the impression, even against Great Britain (17-12 victory) we were not at our level. There, let it be the semi-final (vs. Fiji, 21-14, Sunday morning) or the final (against Argentina, 19-5, Sunday evening), we have had very high level matches in terms of intensity, in application, even if we can be a little more killer because we have a few shots that we harvest. But we managed to maintain pressure on the opponent each time and an iron defense with an impeccable state of mind. We made up a lot of shots too and that’s what it’s doing mentally, it’s having an effect on the team. Afterwards, when we have the ball, we know that we are dangerous, that we are capable of scoring tries. And I think we put all that out there today and it worked well.

Is it this increase in power throughout the weekend that we will have to keep for the Olympics or seek to have more regularity?

It depends on a lot of things: the context, the state of physical and mental freshness, the conditions, the opponents. We know that in this sport, everything can go very quickly in one direction or the other. But what we have to remember is that, even if we had a slightly more complicated day on Saturday, we did not demobilize. We came back full of confidence and desire, in the morning against the Fijians. Either way, we know that against these teams, we have no margin for error and that we have to be at our best to win. And the mental strength of the team was more than convincing this weekend.

All weekend, you had to deal with big clients with good builds, how do you feel?

Honestly, the hardest part of this sport is not the contacts you make. At XV, there are much heavier players. The hardest part is the travel, the repetition of the races, it’s the duel game. Even if we see that teams like Argentina or Fiji hit hard in the rucks and they tackle hard. So the impact and the physical commitment also play a big role and that is perhaps why we lost the group match (vs. Argentina, 12-36). But it’s more the legs that hurt than the shoulders.

There are quite a few areas of play which are extremely important in this sport and which can also be useful to XV.

Do you feel that this experience at 7 makes you progress?

I try to take whatever I can get. It’s already a lot of fun. I also find a lot of enthusiasm in a more relaxed, more instinctive game, but of course there is also a lot of work behind it. Whether specific, physical or technical. So I try to take everything that can be taken so that it can be useful to me in the XV. We talked a lot about rucks because at 7 it’s super important. Kick-offs too, even if I’m less invested in that sector obviously. But there are quite a few areas of play which are extremely important in this sport and which can also be useful to XV.

In any case, we imagine that you don’t regret coming…

No, of course. I knew that I had this objective and that I had this Madrid tournament to play, even if it was a little complicated with the calendar just after the European Cup final. But I set the objective of the Olympic Games and I wanted to use all the means in my possession to be in the best possible conditions to achieve it. I think it also does me good to have this experience, to continue to play matches and tournaments. The staff really listened to my feelings and the match I played last week (against Leinster with Toulouse). I was quite adapted during the week and even during the weekend. And it was the whole group who, in the end, did the job.

Personally, you leave with an extra reward, the title of rookie of the year, that of the youngster of Seven…

Given my advanced age, I didn’t think I was going to end up with the rookies (laughs). But it’s always nice to receive a prize. As I said, this group was already performing well before I arrived, so it was easy to integrate myself into it, whether in terms of rugby or outside. It’s a group that lives really well and I think that’s reflected on the pitch. As soon as one guy misses, there are two who dive to catch up. That’s what’s nice too, to have this feeling that we are ready to give everything for each other. And I try to get in there by giving my best.