England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth has told Sky Sports that France playmaker Antoine Dupont is the ‘Patrick Mahomes of rugby’ ahead of Les Bleus visiting Allianz Stadium in the Six Nations.
Dupont, who did not play in last year’s Six Nations in order to prioritise sevens and Olympic gold at the Paris Games, was back in the team for last Friday’s resounding 43-0 success over Wales.
England suffered a 27-22 defeat to Ireland in Dublin in their championship opener, falling 27-10 behind after the concession of 22 straight points before a late rally.
In the week the NFL’s Super Bowl takes place, live on Sky Sports, Dupont has been likened to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Mahomes, who many already believe to be among the greatest American football players of all time.
“He’s [Dupont] the best. I think that’s been acknowledged by everyone,” Wigglesworth told Sky Sports. “He is complete and strong in every area. I’ve never seen a guy get out of trouble as well as he does.
“Someone thinks they’ve got him or the ball bobbles out the back, it’s almost where he comes to life. That’s pretty rare. He is [like Patrick Mahomes]. You think the play’s dead, and it’s not. That’s a good comparison.
Antoine Dupont has been compared to NFL’s Patrick Mahomes by England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth
“How do you stop him? If coaches had the answer to that, then they’d be earning a lot of money, wouldn’t they? It’s a team effort to stop him, because it’s not stopping him, it’s stopping what’s happening around him. Stopping their momentum, speed of ball, offloads, so that he has less time and space.
“Because in small spaces, he’s good. If you give him time and space, then you’re not going to have much of a chance.
“I certainly had many deficiencies [as a scrum-half], but he’s pretty complete. He kicks off both feet, he’s strong, he’s quick, competitive, manages the game well. There’s not an area where you think: ‘this is where he lacks.'”
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England captain Maro Itoje said his side endured a difficult second half as they were beaten by Ireland in the Six Nations but believes there are positives to build on
France head to London in fine fettle, and look back to their form of 2023. Wigglesworth admits this weekend is one of the biggest challenges in the sport at present for the hosts.
“It’s right up there. I think they were, along with Ireland, massive favourites for the tournament. The two big ones first. We get a team that’s huge in talent, but in stature as well,” he said.
“We know how big the forwards are, so what a physical challenge it is for us to go after them, to then try and stop this guy [Dupont] playing nine from in behind, who’s pretty good.
“They’re big men, but we’ve got our own guys that are incredibly dynamic and athletic. We’ll be meeting that head on.”
France inflicted a record home defeat upon England when the sides last met at this venue two years ago, scoring seven tries on their way to a 53-10 demolition.
“It’s not been spoken about,” Wigglesworth said ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
“Two years, different teams, different time. Every Test match is different, so we’ll be making sure that isn’t repeated.
“We need to win. If we’re going to be challenging the end of it, we need to win.”
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The Times’ Martyn Ziegler reflects on France’s crushing 43-0 win over Wales in the Six Nations opener, which has heaped pressure on Warren Gatland
Since defeating Ireland at Twickenham in last year’s Six Nations, England have gone on to lose seven of their next nine, often surrendering second-half leads.
Wigglesworth admits such a trend is a concern, but insists it is not due to the fitness of the squad.
“It’s a concern because we’re starting games well and then not finishing them off.
“It’s not one thing. We’re not looking at the lads thinking they’re not fit enough. They’re in good condition.
“We made basic errors and discipline errors that allowed a really, really good team (Ireland) field position. When you keep repeating those mistakes and giving teams possession in your 22, they’re going to take the chances.
Wigglesworth was adamant England’s fitness is not the issue behind their run of defeats from positions of second-half leads
“[Fitness is] not the issue. The team can run, they’re in a good spot. We’ve got historical data from Test matches dating back years and years, so we know where they are and what they can do. It’s definitely not the issue. Lots of lessons are being learned between the autumn and then last week.
“We had an incredibly difficult run of games and we’ve had incredibly close results that we’ve not got over the line.
“We’d be avoiding if we weren’t looking at the why but there is good stuff in what we’re doing. We are growing. That needs to turn into wins now, we know.”
British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports
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