22 September 2023 , 21:11
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Johan Deysel has taken full responsibility for injuring Antoine Dupont after the world's best player suffered a fractured cheekbone during France's 96-0 win over Namibia on Thursday.
Dupont was forced off in the 46th minute when Deysel made a head-on-head tackle and got himself sent off. Fabien Galthie's side ended up romping to their biggest-ever victory, scoring 14 tries in total, including a hat-trick for wing Damian Penaud as Thomas Ramos kicked 12 conversations.
France have now won their first three World Cup matches but could be without Dupont for the foreseeable future, with Italy to come in their final group game on October 6. And on Friday afternoon, the French Rugby Federation confirmed the diagnosis of Dupont's injury but revealed he will remain with the squad.
Dupont will also see a specialist to find out the extent of his problem, with the quarter-finals of the World Cup scheduled for the weekend of 14-15 October, while the semi-finals are the week before the final on October 28. In the meantime, Namibia centre Deysel has apologised to Dupont in a statement.
"I would like to extend my best wishes to Antoine Dupont. Clearly, I meant no harm," he said. "Everything happened very quickly, and I couldn't get my head out of the way quick enough, resulting in a head clash. I know the rules and immediately knew that I was at fault.
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"I spoke with coach Fabien Galthie immediately after the match and sent my best wishes and apologies to Antoine both personally and via the France team doctor. He is a great player and person and I wish him a speedy recovery."
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Johan Deysel was sent off against France on Thursday (Getty Images)France will be hoping Dupont, who has been named as the world's best player for two years in a row, will be able to play some part before the end of the tournament as they bid to win their first-ever World Cup.
Speaking to ITV, France general team manager Raphael Ibanez said after the game: "Antoine [Dupont] got a big hit on his face and we will do some exams to make sure nothing is wrong with him, but he is a strong guy and we can rely on his strength.
"We feel sorry for Antoine. It just reminds us how dangerous it can be with a head-to-head contact. We have many reasons to have a smile on our face tonight because we scored some decent tries with the home crowd, a lot of support and energy for the boys. We have got to leave with that energy, it is fantastic for our team and hopefully we keep on going."
The win over Namibia could be described as a statement victory for France and Penaud admitted the performance should put them in good stead for the rest of the tournament. "The tries are anecdotal. We'll remember today's victory," Penaud said. "Now we've found a bit of cohesion on the pitch, it bodes well for the future."