FILE -France’s Antoine Dupont runs in to score his side’s seventh try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between France and Namibia at the Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
FILE -Rugby player Antoine Dupont catches an NFL football during a Los Angeles Chargers practice session Sept. 26, 2024, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FILE -The French team players Antoine Dupont, center, and Gregory Alldritt, right, celebrate with the trophy after the Six Nations rugby union match between France and Scotland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE -France’s Antoine Dupont runs in to score his side’s seventh try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between France and Namibia at the Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
So much so that the France captain has joined the ownership group of a Los Angeles rugby club.
It’s good timing for the sport, too, as it attempts to boost its profile in the United States.
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles said the 28-year-old scrumhalf, one of the world’s best rugby union players but currently , and his company Ouest Coast have joined its ownership group. No financial details were released.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Dupont led France to at the Paris Olympics last summer after switching his attention from the traditional 15s format. Sevens remains on the program for the .
He’s no stranger to the Los Angeles area, having visited following the Olympics.
While there, Dupont spent a day . He showed head coach Jim Harbaugh how to pass a rugby ball, kicked some field goals and went through a training session, calling the whole thing 鈥渁n amazing experience.鈥
RFCLA said Friday that Dupont can bring 鈥済lobal star power鈥 to the club and Major League Rugby, which launched in 2018.
鈥淟os Angeles is a unique place,鈥 Dupont said in the announcement, “combining the best of sports, entertainment, fashion, and culture 鈥 I can鈥檛 think of any other place that provides such opportunities for youth development, high performance, and commercial success to go hand-in-hand.鈥
The Men’s Rugby World Cup will be in 2031 and the women鈥檚 tournament two years later. World Rugby 鈥 the sport鈥檚 international governing body 鈥 has long viewed the U.S. as an area of untapped potential.
鈥淩ugby is more than just a sport; it鈥檚 a community with strong values,鈥 Dupont said. 鈥淏eyond competitive success on the pitch for RFCLA, I am excited by the opportunity to grow rugby’s popularity in the States and establish an energetic hub of rugby culture that attracts players, fans, teams, and partners from around the world.鈥
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