The China Mail - Dupont sparks explosion as Toulouse demolish La Rochelle

La Rochelle jumped into a sixth-minute lead with a try by Davit Niniashvili. Toulouse hit back hard.

Julien Marchand bludgeoned over for the hosts. Thomas Ramos missed the conversion so Toulouse still trailed after 17 minutes when Dupont pounced on a loose ball in midfield.

He set the attack moving with a behind-the-back pass and was first to the next breakdown to make the sharp pass that put Ange Capuozzo in for a score.

Nine minutes later, Dupont missed a chance to touch down behind the La Rochelle goal line but Romain Ntamack, following up, did score.

Dupont quickly made amends, spinning off the back of a ruck in midfield, stiff-arming hooker Tolu Latu onto his back and scooting through a huge gap to score.

It was his first Top 14 try since a nine-minute hat-trick coming off the bench against Clermont in October 2024 as he returned from a break after winning Olympic gold. He was injured against Ireland in the Six Nations in March.

Dupont returned in November and scored a try in Europe in a loss to Glasgow on December 13 but until Sunday had waited more than 14 months for a Top 14 try. He then took three minutes to deliver another.

Toulouse dropped the ball at a line out five metres out. Dupont reacted fastest, picking the ball up and strolling past the bemused La Rochelle pack to score.

He did not score again but did set up a try for winger Teddy Thomas with a pin-point crossfield kick before trotting off after an hour with victory secure.

Toulouse scored nine tries to collect a bonus point and push Pau, who edged Montpellier 35-33 earlier in the day without a bonus point, off the top of the standings.

J.Thompson--ThChM