Hong Kong Sevens: France leaning on Antoine Dupont’s influence in glory bid, ‘pressure on us to keep winning’
- Les Bleus and Ireland set for a well poised semi-final clash on Sunday
- Winners will meet either New Zealand or Australia in a final set to be the last at Hong Kong Stadium
France and Ireland completed gritty last-eight victories to set up what should be a bar-clearing semi-final of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday.
The two teams clashed in a barnstorming last-four game in Los Angeles last month, when France, inspired by crossover superstar Antoine Dupont, won 26-24.
Ireland might spy a Dupont-shaped hole in the French contingent in Hong Kong, and fancy their chances of moving one step closer to a first global series title.
But Aaron Grandidier, who scored the third try that finally put dogged Spain to bed in a quarter-final far more competitive than the 24-10 scoreline suggested, said the influence of Dupont was stamped though his team.
“He brings a lot of experience, even though that experience is not from the sevens world,” Grandidier told the Post.
“You can tell in the high-pressure moments, he has lived through hundreds of them, and that has given us a real level-headedness.”
