A magnificent Antoine Dupont crowned his two-year odyssey into the world of rugby sevens with a dream Olympic gold for France in front of an adoring crowd in Paris on Saturday.
The France and Toulouse 15s captain again received a rapturous welcome from a raucous Stade de France for the final against Fiji, which the hosts won 28-7 in front of President Emmanuel Macron.
“A huge reward for us, for rugby, for all the country,” Dupont said.
“We really felt that we were representing not only rugby but the whole of French sport. We are really proud to start the Olympics like that.” Dupont added: “It’s such a great honour to win this title and I have such great emotions. “It is such a great thing to achieve with these boys. It’s really top of the list.
“I just want to share this with my teammates. We worked so hard for so long to do this. This is just the cherry on the cake.” Dupont has established himself as one of world rugby’s best players and the scrum-half cuts an iconic figure in France.