Star man Dupont is relishing expectation of a nation

BEFORE the home Rugby World Cup, a homecoming. Antoine Dupont stands ready to conquer the global game, but still finds time to get back to his roots.

- Nick Purewal

France's superstar scrum-half can rubber-stamp his status as the world's best player all over again as Les Bleus chase the Webb Ellis Cup across the next seven weeks.

Fabien Galthie's men will start the quest by hosting New Zealand at Stade de France tonight. France's Saint-Denis stronghold will cram in some 80,000 this evening, for a sporting spectacle to grip the nation and the rugby world.

Some 450 miles south is the tiny village in which Dupont's storied career began, in a place populated by just a quarter of those who will attend tonight's contest.

Not even four months ago, Dupont made a poignant return to Auch, to Jacques-Fouroux Stadium, to relive his humble beginnings. His Toulouse and France team-mate Anthony Jelonch was there, too, as documentary-makers looked to get to the heart of how such a tiny club could generate so many stars.