Bizarre tactic sees Dupont swap roles with 145kg lock to devastating effect
The unlikely duo of Antoine Dupont and Emmanuel Meafou proved on Friday night that there is a lot of truth in the adage ‘hit them when they least expect it.’ But in order to do so, the two players had to switch roles in the Top 14 semi-final against Racing 92 at Reale Arena in Spain.
As Racing’s 130kg lock Veikoso Poloniati went over the ball at a ruck five metres from his own line, he was probably expecting at 145kg and 2.03 metres of Meafou to clatter into him. Instead, it was the diminutive 85kg Dupont who cleared him out. That must have been a relief for Poloniati, but little did he know that he was being suckered into a trap. All Dupont had done was clear a space for Meafou to bulldoze through and score Toulouse’s second try of the match.
99 times out of 100 it is Meafou clearing out and Dupont darting around the breakdown, but that is exactly what teams expect and are preparing for. But switching roles, Toulouse caught the Parisian outfit off guard and reaped the rewards handsomely. This is the added bonus of having a scrum-half that is capable of picking up and driving back 130kg locks- not many can do that. Despite the best efforts of about four Racing defenders, Meafou was able to wriggle his way to the line after catching them out.
This was all on the way to Toulouse achieving a 41-14 win and booking their place in the Top 14 final.
Take a look at the try:
Antoine Dupont clearing out a 130kg lock, and Meafou playing scrumhalf
by u/pantagr in rugbyunion
