“There has been no direct discussion with the French team about a mask for Antoine Dupont,” assured the director general of World Rugby on Wednesday, when asked about the possibility of seeing the star of the Blues, operated on a fracture in the face, wear protection. “The rules and laws of the game are clear regarding masks protecting the face as well as equipment,” recalled Alan Gilpin during the weekly press conference of the organizers of the Rugby World Cup.
“Technical Regulation 12 and Law of the Game 4 specify the type of material that can be used and set a maximum thickness of 5 millimeters. What is important is that it cannot be a rigid material,” he further explained. The captain and scrum half of the Blues was operated on Friday for a maxillo-zygomatic fracture due to a shock suffered against Namibia (96-0).
Tuesday, the forwards coach of the XV of France William Servat assured that he had “not too much doubt about the ability of Antoine Dupont to play the quarter-final” of the 2023 World Cup, on October 14 or 15. “He will be back for training on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are rest days for us, he will have time to come back within this period of time,” said the former international hooker (49 caps between 2004 and 2012).
The best player in the world 2021, star of French rugby, left in the 46th minute of the easily won match against Namibia on Thursday in Marseille (96-0), after being hit violently on the head by Namibian center and captain Johan Deysel , suspended five weeks for this bad gesture.
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