London
7 °C
Manchester
Glasgow
5 °C
Dublin
3 °C
Belfast
4 °C
Washington
Denver
0 °C
Atlanta
22 °C
Dallas
Houston Texas
25 °C
New Orleans
El Paso
21 °C
Phoenix
Los Angeles
23 °C
22 °C
11 °C
25 °C
Dupont says France must forget Six Nations title talk against Scotland / Photo: © AFP
Dupont says France must forget Six Nations title talk against Scotland
Antoine Dupont on Friday urged France to stay focused on beating Scotland at Murrayfield rather than become distracted by thoughts of another Six Nations title.
Reigning champions France, the only unbeaten side after three rounds, will retain their crown with a game to spare should they secure a bonus-point win in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Even if they slip up against Scotland, they can still lift the trophy with victory over England at the Stade de France in their tournament finale on March 14.
"It's important to win competitions when you're in a position to win them," France captain Dupont, 29, said at Murrayfield.
"Obviously, for many reasons, it will be more than positive to win this tournament, but we still have two games to play."
The scrum-half added: "We know how difficult it is to win here. We don't need to talk about the quality of the Scottish team, especially since the beginning of this tournament.
"Our main focus is here for the moment. We will have time to see what happens next."
France won last year's Six Nations -- their first title since 2022 -- by beating Scotland in the final match of the tournament at a raucous Stade de France.
They will be backed by around 15,000 supporters of Les Bleus at Murrayfield this weekend.
"It motivates us to know that we will have this support during the match," said Dupont.
"It gives us energy when we are on the pitch and I think we will need it tomorrow.
"It's true that we relaunched the enthusiasm of the French public for the French team a few years ago. It has increased gradually and today we have reached new heights, so it obviously makes us very proud to feel so supported.
"We want to meet the expectations of the people."
Both France and Scotland are renowned for their attacking approach but Toulouse star Dupont warned his side against getting carried away.
"I hope that there will be a show, but it is important that we do not lose the focus of winning the match," he said.
"But if there can be both, it is obviously all the better.
"We have the keys to compete with Scotland but we will have to be at the maximum of our concentration and intensity to be able to compete."
P. da Silva--JDB
