The paradoxical effect of Antoine Dupont’s absence on France squad

France flanker Charles Ollivon believes captain Antoine Dupont’s absence has only strengthened the squad’s resolve at the Rugby World Cup.

Talisman Dupont is hoping to appear in the knockout stages despite having surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone sustained a fortnight ago in France’s 96-0 win against Namibia.

Ollivon will skipper Les Bleus in their final Pool A game against Italy in Lyon on Friday, with the hosts big favourites to seal victory and an expected quarter-final clash with World Cup holders South Africa.

The Toulon back row told a press conference: “The captaincy didn’t change much in my week. We have a group of leaders and in the absence of Antoine Dupont, the whole group has remained united to compensate for his absence.”

Italy were thrashed 96-17 by New Zealand in their last match, but can still progress from the group if they beat France by seven points or more.

“We suspect that Italy will not show the same face as against New Zealand,” Ollivon added. “We didn’t dwell on the New Zealand match.

“It will be a completely different game, with undoubtedly a higher level of commitment and fewer missed tackles.

“We expect a lot of engagement during the first 20 minutes. It’s up to us to be consistent for 80 minutes. This is a match where things will hit hard.”

Bordeaux’s Maxime Lucu will step in at scrum-half for Dupont and Gregory Alldritt returns to the back-row in place of Francois Cros.

France have won all bar three of their 47 previous encounters with Italy, with their most recent defeat coming in the 2013 Six Nations in Rome.