Arizona Tribune - England's El-Abd always knew France star Dupont would go far

El-Abd, the forwards coach of Castres when Dupont was making his way in rugby union at the French club, now has the difficult task of trying to help England shut-down the brilliant 28-year-old in Saturday's Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

"I spent a couple of years with Antoine in his formative years," El-Abd told reporters at Twickenham on Friday.

"We saw the talent he had at that point and now we are seeing the fruits of all the work he has been putting in all the way through."

Dupont's vast array of skills, be it his ability to pass with either hand or kick off either foot, not to mention his superb defence, have placed the Toulouse scrum-half in the pantheon of all-time greats.

- 'Great lad' -

But El-Abd explained it was Dupont's attitude, as much as his ability, that made him stand out as a youngster.

"I remember a lot," said the 44-year-old Englishman.

"He was already a great lad who wanted to work all the time and wanted to get better at his game. We saw that the talent was there right away so he's always had it, but aligned with the work that he puts in, it was always going to come to this moment.

"He moved across to Toulouse, settled in, and we're seeing now from the Sevens last year (Dupont won Olympic gold), that experience, he's added that to his game and he's always moving forward."

Asked if Dupont had ever had a weakness, El-Abd replied: "No. I always remember him kicking with both feet, trying to kick with his left foot. And now, obviously, he's got that in his locker as well."

El-Abd, currently combining his England role with a final season as head coach of French second-tier club Oyonnax, is well aware of what is at stake.

"It is the big game for the French and for us, 'Le Crunch' as they call it," he said. "If you read the (French) press, it is the big game."

Dupont was in complete command when France opened the Six Nations with a 43-0 rout of Wales in Paris last week, whereas England lost 27-22 to champions Ireland -- their seventh straight defeat by a leading nation.

Aggressive defence helped England lead 10-5 at the break in Dublin, but missed tackles then proved costly as Ireland surged ahead in the second half.

"More than a few times I've watched the (Ireland) game over!," said El-Abd.

"We definitely took a step forward...There were moments in that first half when we were really proud of what we saw.

"In the second half, it was a little bit more difficult. We gave them lots of opportunities to get into our 22 and into our half. That's something that we need to look at."

M.Robinson--AT