Six Nations star caught by TV cameras angrily confronting opponent | Rugby | Sport
Television cameras captured the moment Antoine Dupont appeared to decline shaking hands with opposite number Ben White following Saturday’s extraordinary Six Nations clash at Murrayfield. Dupont endured one of his most forgettable performances against the Scots, making uncharacteristic mistakes as Scotland stormed to a 50-40 victory that flattered the French.
White and Dupont traded verbal exchanges throughout the match, with the Scotland number nine roaring in his opponent’s face at one stage during the fierce contest. Following the final whistle, as Scotland’s players formed the customary tunnel and applauded the departing French side, White extended a hand towards Dupont in an apparent gesture of reconciliation.
The France scrum-half was having none of it, however, refusing to shake hands and walking away with some sharp words as White appeared stunned by the rejection.
Other Scottish players also seemed surprised by the incident, with Finn Russell spotted grinning awkwardly.
France travelled to Edinburgh knowing a bonus-point victory would have secured them a second successive championship and set them up for a first Grand Slam since 2022.
Yet it was the dominant Scots who stole the spotlight with one of their finest-ever displays to demolish Fabien Galthie’s side.
Wings Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn both bagged doubles, whilst Pierre Schoeman, White and substitute Tom Jordan also touched down. The sole disappointment for the Scots, who had stormed into a 47-14 lead after 65 minutes, was conceding four tries to the French in the final 15 minutes, allowing them to reduce the deficit to just 10 points.
“It’s a proud day for us,” said captain Sione Tuipulotu. “But I think also one we’ve been building towards. And also one that maybe, if you’d been on our training ground, not that we expected, but we felt what we were capable of.
“I just couldn’t be prouder of, not necessarily the big scoring moments, but the way we reacted to moments.
“I’m really proud to be leading a group of guys like that, ones that rally around each other, rally around our coach as we’ve done since the start of the tournament.
“We’ve given ourselves an opportunity. It’s something a Scotland team hasn’t done before, going into the last week with everything to play for.”
With their Grand Slam aspirations extinguished in Edinburgh, France must now regroup ahead of welcoming a struggling England side.
“We are disappointed,” said head coach Galthie. “We wanted to do much better. We were very ambitious so we understand the disappointment of our fans. We share it.
“But we’re in a race to win the competition. We have a game in Paris. Saturday night at the Stade de France. We know we have to go through this.”
