1
Romain Ntamack is like Pippen to Dupont's Jordan
By Ben Smith
Every superhero has a sidekick, an underrated partner in crime who without the hero is a lesser version of themselves.
ADVERTISEMENT
For France’s Antoine Dupoint, that man is Romain Ntamack, a star in his own right who would be considered one of the top three No 10s in the world.
The 24-year-old has probably been the number one in the position at some point over the last three years.
The pair have formed an innate understanding of each other after years at Toulouse that has seen them win league titles in the Top 14 and European crowns.
But Ntamack does not get the same recognition as Dupont, such is the No 9’s talent, he is so good he overshadows one of the best players in the world.
Losing their flyhalf to an ACL injury on the eve of the Rugby World Cup is nothing short of a disaster, no two ways about it.
They have depth at the position but players like Matthieu Jalibert cannot replicate the partnership that Dupont and Ntamack have forged.
ADVERTISEMENT
When France demolished the All Blacks in Paris in late 2021, it was Ntamack who took advantage of Dupont’s platform and made the biggest plays.
In the first minute they ran a short side raid utilising Dupont’s playmaking around the ruck and were able to break open New Zealand.
ADVERTISEMENT
The speed of the recycle put the All Blacks’ ruck defence on the back foot, with Sam Cane (7), Aaron Smith (9) and Sam Whitelock (5) all stuck too close.
France used one lead runner, Cyril Baille (1), to hold the ruck defence. His line also drew a bad read from Akira Ioane (6) who closed in from the outside.
Cane (7) was caught taking the same man as Ioane, highlighting a complete breakdown in communication between the backrowers.
Dupont’s pass was absolutely perfect, almost clipping Baille’s shoulder. Out-of-the-hand it looked certain to be destined for the lead runner, only to fly past into the hands of Ntamack (10) out the back.
The French flyhalf sold the dummy to the drifting winger George Bridge and ripped off a massive line break.
France open the scoring 7-0 off the back of the territory gained by Ntamack’s long break.
When they next travelled down into New Zealand’s territory they produced the exact same screen play with similar results.
With the All Blacks on the back foot, Dupont used winger Gabin Villiere (11) to plow into the retreating defence and build more pressure.
Villiere timed his run perfectly and flew into the All Blacks’ troubled line, chewing off another 5-10 metres in contact.
The powerful carry successfully isolated Richie Mo’unga the forwards in desperate need to get around the corner to help him.
Ntamack (10) had to pull up and reset after initially heading towards the forming ruck to clean.
Realising the opportunity, he could see Mo’unga call for help as the All Blacks struggled to fold around the corner and reload the line.
Uini Atonio (3) moved into position to run the same decoy line as before.
As the play developed, Atonio’s line created a ‘chip block’ on Ardie Savea (8) with slight contact, further separating Mo’unga from any inside help.
Savea’s momentum stopped momentarily while Mo’unga was forced to push out, creating a widened gap in the process.
With Mo’unga isolated and hips turned towards the sideline, Ntamack beat the All Black No 10 with the big right foot step to find the gap inside.
The simple scheme orchestrated by Dupont and Ntamack resulted in two tries in the first fifteen minutes.
The flyhalf came up with two line breaks, on both occasions exposing All Black loose forwards as his running game flourished.
A third line break by Ntamack coming off a tap back by Gael Fickou from a Dupont cross-field kick led to France’s third try.
After the All Blacks mounted a comeback and got within two points, it was Ntamack who sparked an incredible counter-attack coming out his in-goal area.
It was the game’s pivotal moment, with the break leading to three points for France after Savea was sin-binned an indiscretion defending his line.
It’s why we love this game, it’s why we love watching France… 🤩#FRAvNZL #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/TV6bQFLf4O
— Summer Nations Series (@autumnnations) November 20, 2021
France’s halves were on fire with Dupont providing the alley-oops for Ntamack to bring home with the slam dunks.
What they did against the All Blacks on that night in 2021, have been replicated against others.
So many tries that either Dupont or Ntamack have scored over this era have been constructed by the other.
Which is why the connection they have is irreplaceable, and the loss of Ntamack could cost France the ultimate prize.
Ntamack is Pippen to Dupont’s Jordan, and Michael never won any titles without Scottie.
Huge loss for France but still back them to power through and do well. They will be tested by the All Blacks in their first game. May not win that game but expect their combinations to get going come the knock outs and in front of their home crowd I expect that they will be an absolute monster