There were a couple of moments during the championship that reminded everyone of France scrum-half Antoine Dupont’s fallibility.
Against Wales, he booted prime ball straight into the Stade de France stands. Against England, he juggled and dropped a relatively simple pass, with the line at his mercy.
The knee ligament injury he suffered against Ireland, buckling under Beirne’s weight at the breakdown, reminded us of his mortality.
But there were plenty of glimpses of his greatness as well, the things that, for all deputy Maxime Lucu’s speed of pass and territorial kicking, were lost to France in his absence.
Dupont’s use of the kick-pass to circumvent a defence that has pinched in tight against France’s power gives them another dimension.
In France’s tournament opener, after their heavy brigade had bashed away at a stubborn Wales defence for 12 phases, Dupont picked up the ball and dawdled sideways and backwards off the back of the breakdown.
For most coaches, that is a cardinal sin. But it drew the Welsh defence forwards and when Dupont chipped to the far wing, Josh Adams was wrong-footed and unable to stop Theo Attissogbe gathering and scoring the first of 30 French tries in the tournament.
In Dupont’s absence, France were even deploying the tactic in defence, with Louis Bielle-Biarrey punting wide to opposite wing Damian Penaud during an audacious exit against Ireland.
No other team deployed the tactic as accurately.
