France captain Antoine Dupont has confirmed on social media that he ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee during the win over Ireland on Saturday. The scrum half was forced off in the first-half after Tadhg Beirne fell awkwardly on his leg at a ruck.
He was treated for several minutes before being forced off and replaced by Maxime Lucu. Although it didn’t disrupt his team’s momentum as they ran out 42-27 winners, afterwards coach Fabien Galthie voiced conerns that the injury was “serious.” Sure enough, the star himself has now taken to Instagram to reveal his diagnosis.
“The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your friends before the last step,” he said. “I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and with all my strength with you, you will do it.
“Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the beginning of a new challenge, I’ll see you in a few months on the field.”
While Dupont contemplates a long period of rehabilitation, the fallout over his injury continues. He was attempting to steal the ball in the 28th minute and was challenged by Beirne, who then fell into his right leg as Irish prop Andrew Porter joined the ruck.
After the match, an irate Galthie said France would be taking the matter further and took aim at the two Irish players involved. “We named the players who made contact with Dupont,” he said.
“Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter, who should appear before the disciplinary commission. We want explanations, so we’ve named two players. We have to protect our players. There are means, there are rules. There is some kind of anger.”
Immediately after the incident, French No.8 Gregory Alldritt, who took over the captaincy in Dupont’s absence, asked referee Angus Gardner to review the incident with the TMO. However, the official refused, and Ireland interim coach Simon Easterby later claimed the clash was accidental.
“I think it’s just a rugby incident,” he said. “Tadhg Beirne cleans out someone in front of Antoine Dupont and he gets hit off the back of it. It happens, unfortunately.”