ON THE EVE of Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with France, this writer had the pleasure of sitting on a Parisian street corner enjoying a nice glass of red as the world passed by.
The conversation, naturally, was sport, specifically Antoine Dupont’s place in the French national consciousness. Who better to ask that our friendly Parisian waiter?
A colleague posed the question: rank in terms of the popularity the three biggest names from three of the most popular sports in France: soccer’s Kylian Mbappé, NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and rugby’s Antoine Dupont.
The response made our inquirer’s face drop.
“Number one, Mbappé. Two, Giannis. And three, I don’t know who this is?”
Fair enough, he wasn’t a rugby man, but all we could do is ensure him that he doesn’t know what he’s missing. If he needed converting, he could do worse than find a ticket and take a Metro up to tonight’s Top 14 final meeting of Toulouse and Montpellier (8pm, Premier Sports). You’d need a bit of luck though. As of Thursday, tickets for the 81,000-capacity Stade de France were not available on general sale.
Last weekend, Dupont was at it again, all kicks, flicks and swings of the hips as Toulouse romped to a stunning 71-17 dismantling of Racing 92 in their Top 14 semi-final.
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This was Dupont at his magnificent best, a welcome return to peak form after (by his standards) a mixed year.
Yes, he won another Six Nations, but there was a somewhat erratic display as Les Bleus threw their Grand Slam hopes away in Murrayfield.
And yes, his Toulouse side are 80 minutes away from collecting a fourth Brennus in a row, but in the Champions Cup Dupont was yellow-carded in the quarter-final loss to Bordeaux-Belges, the only side who can match Toulouse’s thrilling flair in attack.
And, whisper it, but there’s a strong argument the most impressive French scrum-half this season has been UBB’s Maxime Lucu.
There’s a fascinating battle unfolding there. Fabien Galthie has left his first-choice half-back pairing of Dupont and Romain Ntamack at home for the opening of their Nations Championship campaign, meaning that even if Dupont is added to the squad after this weekend, Lucu will get a head-start on the man who for so long has been the first name on the teamsheet, and captain since 2021.
Dupont has had something of a bit-part role since that Champions Cup defeat, featuring twice off the bench for Toulouse before starting the win over Toulon and sprinkling his stardust over last weekend’s thumping defeat of Racing.
In Toulouse show up in the same swaggering form, Montpellier will not be able to live with them.
ʟᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴏ ᴅᴇs ᴄɪsᴛᴇs 💙
Découvrez la compo la plus attendue de la saison... celle de notre Finale de Top 14 😍
— Montpellier Hérault Rugby (@MHR_officiel) June 26, 2026
Not that Montpellier aren’t a fine side in their own right, back in their first final since 2022, which remains their sole success, and fresh from a dominant Challenge Cup final defeat of Ulster.
Reinvigorated by a young coaching team over recent seasons, from finishing 13th in 2024 Montpellier jumped to ninth last season, just five points short of a place in the Champions Cup. This season they built on that momentum, backboned by a robust defence – conceding the fewest points in the league – and finishing just four points behind Toulouse at the top.
Monpellier scrum-half Ali Price. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Only a handful of the class of the 2022 are still around, with Montpellier now led by some familiar faces. Billy Vunipola’s power has been significant, with the former Saracens man now captaining the side, while Ali Price has proved a game-changing addition at scrum-half.
Yet if Toulouse are in they are so hard to live with, and so Montpellier need to slow their ruck ball to stop the brilliant French half-backs from running the show. Easier said than done in the predicted 35C Parisian heat.
“Focusing on Antoine Dupont means you create space for others,” Montpellier head coach Joan Caudullo told reporters this week.
“We’ve worked so that we’re watertight. The X-Factor is Antoine Dupont, who will try and make things difficult for us, but we want to play these type of matches.”
And for all that flair, Toulouse have one of the Top 14′s most impactful forwards in Jack Willis, and the brute force of Emmanuel Meafou in the second row.
It’s hard to see anything than other glorious day for Ugo Mola’s men.
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Montpellier stand in the way as Dupont and Toulouse eye fourth straight Top 14 title
ON THE EVE of Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with France, this writer had the pleasure of sitting on a Parisian street corner enjoying a nice glass of red as the world passed by.
The conversation, naturally, was sport, specifically Antoine Dupont’s place in the French national consciousness. Who better to ask that our friendly Parisian waiter?
A colleague posed the question: rank in terms of the popularity the three biggest names from three of the most popular sports in France: soccer’s Kylian Mbappé, NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and rugby’s Antoine Dupont.
The response made our inquirer’s face drop.
“Number one, Mbappé. Two, Giannis. And three, I don’t know who this is?”
Fair enough, he wasn’t a rugby man, but all we could do is ensure him that he doesn’t know what he’s missing. If he needed converting, he could do worse than find a ticket and take a Metro up to tonight’s Top 14 final meeting of Toulouse and Montpellier (8pm, Premier Sports). You’d need a bit of luck though. As of Thursday, tickets for the 81,000-capacity Stade de France were not available on general sale.
Last weekend, Dupont was at it again, all kicks, flicks and swings of the hips as Toulouse romped to a stunning 71-17 dismantling of Racing 92 in their Top 14 semi-final.
This was Dupont at his magnificent best, a welcome return to peak form after (by his standards) a mixed year.
Yes, he won another Six Nations, but there was a somewhat erratic display as Les Bleus threw their Grand Slam hopes away in Murrayfield.
And yes, his Toulouse side are 80 minutes away from collecting a fourth Brennus in a row, but in the Champions Cup Dupont was yellow-carded in the quarter-final loss to Bordeaux-Belges, the only side who can match Toulouse’s thrilling flair in attack.
And, whisper it, but there’s a strong argument the most impressive French scrum-half this season has been UBB’s Maxime Lucu.
There’s a fascinating battle unfolding there. Fabien Galthie has left his first-choice half-back pairing of Dupont and Romain Ntamack at home for the opening of their Nations Championship campaign, meaning that even if Dupont is added to the squad after this weekend, Lucu will get a head-start on the man who for so long has been the first name on the teamsheet, and captain since 2021.
Dupont has had something of a bit-part role since that Champions Cup defeat, featuring twice off the bench for Toulouse before starting the win over Toulon and sprinkling his stardust over last weekend’s thumping defeat of Racing.
In Toulouse show up in the same swaggering form, Montpellier will not be able to live with them.
Not that Montpellier aren’t a fine side in their own right, back in their first final since 2022, which remains their sole success, and fresh from a dominant Challenge Cup final defeat of Ulster.
Reinvigorated by a young coaching team over recent seasons, from finishing 13th in 2024 Montpellier jumped to ninth last season, just five points short of a place in the Champions Cup. This season they built on that momentum, backboned by a robust defence – conceding the fewest points in the league – and finishing just four points behind Toulouse at the top.
Only a handful of the class of the 2022 are still around, with Montpellier now led by some familiar faces. Billy Vunipola’s power has been significant, with the former Saracens man now captaining the side, while Ali Price has proved a game-changing addition at scrum-half.
Yet if Toulouse are in they are so hard to live with, and so Montpellier need to slow their ruck ball to stop the brilliant French half-backs from running the show. Easier said than done in the predicted 35C Parisian heat.
“Focusing on Antoine Dupont means you create space for others,” Montpellier head coach Joan Caudullo told reporters this week.
“We’ve worked so that we’re watertight. The X-Factor is Antoine Dupont, who will try and make things difficult for us, but we want to play these type of matches.”
And for all that flair, Toulouse have one of the Top 14′s most impactful forwards in Jack Willis, and the brute force of Emmanuel Meafou in the second row.
It’s hard to see anything than other glorious day for Ugo Mola’s men.
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Preview Rugby Montpellier Toulouse Top 14