Martin Lange with AFP / Photo credit: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP 14:43 p.m., October 11, 2023

While he had already trained on Tuesday, the scrum-half and captain of the XV of France Antoine Dupont again wore the chasuble of holder this Wednesday, as Europe 1 could see on site. The Toulouse-born player also wore a helmet during the session in Rueil-Malmaison.

France XV scrum-half Antoine Dupont, who resumed contact training on Tuesday, took part in the session, helmeted on Wednesday, four days before the match against South Africa in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The day before, he had started the session normally, as Europe 1 had observed, making runs and passes without apparent discomfort, thus reconnecting with his teammates.

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After fifteen minutes, once the journalists had left, the Toulouse-born player donned a black helmet before increasing his contacts with his teammates. During Wednesday's high-intensity training session, he again donned a black helmet with white trim, taking part in the session normally. However, he kept his distance during the regroupings, shifting to the wing. The day also marks Les Bleus' last training session before the announcement on Friday of the squad that will face South Africa.

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"A decision made at the end of the week"

"We tested it to see what it looked like, to find out if it really protected or not. We wanted to see if he was bothered in his vision. In his hearing too, even if there was not in Rueil-Malmaison the same noise, the same atmosphere as at the Stade de France. We've tried it with or without. A decision will be made at the end of the week," French attack coach Laurent Labit said on Tuesday.

© Europe 1

Injured on September 21 in Marseille, operated on the next day in Toulouse, Dupont met up with his teammates at the beginning of October in Aix-en-Provence for physical maintenance sessions, doing a series of runs and passes before settling down on a training bike or a rowing machine.

READ ALSO - Antoine Dupont injury: "He has an incredible appetite, he's already resilient," says Didier Lacroix

Figurehead of French rugby, leader of the XV of France in search of a first world crown, Dupont received Monday the green light from the surgeon who had operated on him to resume training with contacts. After his fracture following an uncontrolled tackle by Namibian centre Johan Deysel, several specialists estimated that he would be out of action for a minimum of four weeks.