Dupont’s dream Rugby World Cup comeback ends in failure when France loses in Paris

PARIS (AP) — Antoine Dupont sank to one knee and covered his face with a hand as the crushing disappointment of France’s Rugby World Cup exit in the quarterfinals sank in.

This was supposed to be his night, the script written perfectly for the captain to lead his side into the semifinals on home soil.

Instead, Les Tricolores lost to defending champion South Africa 29-28 and the world’s best scrumhalf was unable to summon enough magic to make the difference.

“The South Africans showed a lot of experience in their game and dominated us in the tackle. They played a great match,” a crestfallen Dupont said. “It was our first knockout game together (as a squad) and it’s true that we didn’t come through. It certainly will help us gain in experience, but right now there’s obviously a lot of disappointment.”

Dupont took a swipe at New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe, saying he made far too many mistakes.

“There’s a lot of frustration and disappointment. If we look again at some of the decisions maybe there will be even more,” Dupont said. “I don’t want to sound like a bitter person who complains about the refereeing, but I’m not sure the refereeing was at the highest level tonight.”

Dupont’s performance, however, became sloppy after a bright start.

Dupont won his race to recover from surgery for a broken cheekbone sustained in a game against Namibia 3 1/2 weeks ago, and wore a scrum cap on his surgeon’s advice.

He lasted the whole match with seemingly no ill effects. He even endured some ro