Paris (AFP)

The elusive Antoine Dupont, the Welsh phenomenon Louis Rees-Zammit, Caleb Clarke presented as the "next Jonah Lomu", the Australian arrow Jordan Petaia or the Irish talisman James Ryan: five nuggets destined to shine during the 2023 World Cup.

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Dupont, the minister

The Toulouse scrum-half has all the assets of the figurehead that France expected.

Its vista, the quality of its passes and its speed make it a formidable weapon.

Persistent in defense, Dupont is also able to create breaches in attack and finish the job himself thanks to a good placement.

His gift for sniffing out the right moves and being positioned to support his partners inside has earned him the nickname ... "Minister of the Interior".

At 24, he is already considered one of the very best at his post.

The "best" of the northern hemisphere, according to New Zealander Aaron Smith, reference in the field.

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Rees-Zammit, the lightning

With lightning top speed and a devastating hook, the young Welshman (19) is able to grab the ball on his wing and escape all the opposing defense.

Youngest player to have scored a hat-trick in the English Championship record, with Gloucester, at the end of 2019, he was quick to shine with the XV du Leek.

Facing Georgia at the end of November (18-0), the former Cardiff Blues scored his first try for his first cape.

The rule in Wales is that a player playing abroad must have at least 60 caps to continue to be selected.

With rare exceptions, including Rees-Zammit.

That is to say...

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Clarke, a family resemblance

At 21, the young New Zealand winger is already impressing.

To the point of making him a potential heir to Jonah Lomu, the former All Blacks legend who died five years ago.

His massive physique (1.89 m, 107 kg), his cavalcades, his puzzling support and his qualities of crossing the ball in hand are not foreign.

The Auckland Blues nugget, son of former international Eroni Clarke, took his first steps with the Blacks during the fall against Australia.

He has five caps and has already scored his first international try.

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Petaia the equilibrist

At 20, the Australian center with an imposing physique (1.90 m, 98 kg) is a model of precocity.

He had been launched into the international deep sea during the 2019 World Cup in Japan, completed for the Wallabies on a stinging defeat in the quarterfinals against England (40-16).

Observers were able to admire his dexterity and flexibility during the last Rugby Championship, during which he almost scored an acrobatic try against Argentina, flattening the ball with his head upside down.

It had played out a few millimeters away.

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Ripe green ryan

In an aging team, the XV of Clover may have already found its future captain when Jonathan Sexton and others bow out.

At 24, the second row of Leinster (32 caps) took advantage of the absence of the opener-star to take the captaincy against England at the end of November.

The Irish "totem" (2 m, 109 kg) has been walking his massive silhouette for several years on the grounds of Pro14 (ex-Celtic League) and European Cup, won in 2018 in the wake of the Grand Slam in the Tournament .

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