We are fortunate to be watching one of the greatest of all time in action in the coming weeks. Dupont is just magnificent. To me, that really sets him apart from the rest. Not only that, it can also help established players get even better, and Dupont is a brilliant example of that. Antoine Dupont's return to the Six Nations is something every rugby fan should celebrate. The France scrum-half missed last year's tournament while preparing for the Olympics. Dupont won gold in Paris in one of the most spectacular sporting events of But his Olympic performances were just extraordinary in the way he took on new roles like competing for the ball at the breakdown.
You can be badly exposed. But Dupont shone and I can give him no higher praise than saying that in my view, I rank him up there with Sir Gareth Edwards as the best scrum-half to have ever played.
Is Dupont the greatest of all? It is very difficult to say because in lots of ways, rugby has changed a lot over the years. I actually played against Edwards in my career, so what I can say for certain is there has been no other No 9 over the years who can hold a candle to those two.
Sevens has sadly gone by the wayside in our country. Can you imagine how good it would be if Marcus Smith played sevens for Great Britain and the interest it would bring?
Sadly, there is too much politics in English rugby for things like that to happen. Wales lost all 12 Tests in and I am struggling to see them ending that run. Warren Gatland must be having some sleepless nights after a turgid last 12 months. My experience of international rugby is that to have success, you need a world class pair at No 9 and No It would be one of the biggest upsets in Six Nations history if they did.
