France’s head coach Fabien Galthié has expressed deep concern after captain Antoine Dupont suffered a suspected serious knee injury during their emphatic 42-27 victory over Ireland in the Six Nations.
Dupont, 28, was forced off in the first half following a collision with Ireland second row Tadhg Beirne at a ruck. Beirne fell onto the French scrum-half’s right leg, leading to Dupont receiving treatment on the field before being helped off in Dublin.
Speaking at half-time, Galthié admitted that the initial prognosis was grim. “We don’t have good news,” he stated. “We’re suspecting something serious, and he is suffering.”
The injury incident has left the French camp incensed, with Galthié openly questioning why it was not reviewed by the TMO. Both Dupont and replacement captain Gregory Alldritt were seen demanding an explanation from referee Angus Gardner during the match.
“We named the players involved—Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter—who should appear before the disciplinary commission,” Galthié insisted. “We want explanations. We have to protect our players. There are means, there are rules. There is some kind of anger.”
Despite France’s frustration, Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby defended the incident, labeling it an unfortunate aspect of rugby.
“Tadhg was clearing someone out in front of Dupont, and he got caught in the back of it,” Easterby explained. “We have worked to reduce these types of incidents, but this was just an unfortunate part of the game.”
With the victory, France remains at the top of the championship standings and will host Scotland in Paris next weekend for the final game of the tournament. Meanwhile, Ireland will attempt to recover from the loss when they take on Italy in Rome.
