The battle of the scrum-halves: Dupont vs Gibson-Park

The scrum-half, the heartbeat, the link — the crucial player in the fifteen-a-side game with the number nine on the shirt. Playing an active role in all scrums and rucks in rugby, as well as technically being labelled as a back, this position is the access-to-all-areas on the pitch.

What does the scrum-half do? Firstly, looking at the name, the number nine is involved in entering the ball in a scrum, and dealing with the aftermath of play. Whilst also linking play through seamless passing, tactical kicking and creating exciting and opportunistic game play — hence a vital player in rugby.

And now to the legendary Six Nations, where week four saw Les Bleus play against ‘the boys in green’. This was arguably a battle between two of the best number nines in world rugby: Antoine Dupont and Jamison Gibson-Park. The scrum-halves play an exceptionally important role in dictating the outcome of the game, but the specific importance of this showdown is that this was the deciding game for the 2025 Grand Slam.

Dupont is world-renowned for his incredible improvisation, exciting play, and leadership role within the French team and his club Toulouse. Meanwhile, Gibson-Park plays the role of scrum-half to an exceptionally high standard, with legendary Welsh rugby commentator Gareth Rhys Owen referring to him as the best scrum-half in the world. His reasoning for not giving Dupont this title is that he is such a spectacular and unique player that he cannot be copied or recreated, so he does not fit the typical role of a scrum-half.

So how did the two scrum-halves battle it out? The first half was full of excitement, as it saw a sensational French defence preventing any try-scoring from as early as the fifth minute. And after the first yellow card of the match, the game was not looking up for the Irish, with the proceeding penalty giving the French pack and Dupont’s backs the perfect opportunity to score the first try of the day.

However, catastrophe hit for Les Bleus at the 30th minute when Dupont limped off after rupturing ligaments in his knee following a nasty tackle. What was next for the French team? Benched Maxine Lucu came on as the replacement, who as far as subs go is a superb player and had a great personal game, but nothing on Dupont: much to France’s disappointment. Nevertheless, at the halfway point the score was still in France’s favour at 8-3.

A turbulent second half followed with a beautiful Irish converted try, but a second yellow card. For France, even without their star, the backs shone, with Ramos and Bielle-Biarrey having sensational games. Yet for the scrum-halves, the game continued to be pulled apart, with Gibson-Park being substituted in the 68th minute for retiree Connor Murray. So with the two ring leaders of the game being off the pitch by the last quarter, how much of the 42-27 French victory was down to them?

Well, even without both number nines playing the full 80 minutes, what this game showed is that both teams massively revolve around the style of their scrum-half. Gibson-Park, and therefore Ireland’s game, is heavily focused on kicking to defend, and creating opportunities especially down the wing. Dupont and the French have a renowned ‘champagne flair’, which means a classy, opportunistic style to the game. This further proves that even with Dupont’s injury, France’s success in this game was largely due to how the style revolves around their captain.

With an Irish defeat under their belts, the French team will be anticipating a mighty showdown against ‘The Tartan Army’ on Super Saturday, with their one-of-a-kind skipper and scrum-half watching from the sidelines.   

Image from Wikimedia Commons