The National Times - Dupont returns to Six Nations as France bid to dethrone Ireland

Scrum-half Dupont missed last year's tournament to focus on rugby sevens in the build-up to the Paris Games and his decision paid off in style with an Olympic gold medal at the Stade de France.

In his absence, France finished second to Ireland.

"We've got a lot of ambition for this tournament, we have the potential to win it and I'm excited about that," said Dupont.

Under-pressure Wales coach Warren Gatland is well aware of Dupont's quality.

"He's incredibly quick and he's powerful, he's got great vision," said Gatland. "He's excellent in terms of staying on his feet and getting the ball away in contact."

Welsh rugby is in crisis mode after a after a national record of 12 defeats in a row, including losses in all five of their Six Nations matches last year.

Gatland, however, believes the situation could yet work in Wales' favour at the Stade de France.

"We've spoken about the fact that ironically there is probably more pressure and expectation on them (France)," he said. "There is expectation from their fans."

Ireland will pose a stern challenge to the chasing pack as they bid to become the first side to win the title three years in a row since the tournament was expanded to six teams in 2000.

- 'Big occasion' -

The Irish are in an unusual position, with Simon Easterby in caretaker charge while head coach Andy Farrell is seconded to the British and Irish Lions for this year's tour of Australia.

Easterby, however can call upon a seasoned squad led by Ireland captain Caelan Doris.

"He leads by example, but he's also finding his own way to do things in his captaincy," said Easterby of the Leinster back-row.

"He's definitely someone that when the big occasion comes, he steps up, and he's proven that for Ireland, and also, more recently, for Leinster."

Ireland begin their title defence against England in Dublin on Saturday, with the visitors not having finished higher than third since being crowned Six Nations champions in 2020.

England won just five of their 12 Tests last year but did defeat Ireland and new captain Maro Itoje believes Steve Borthwick's men are on the verge of becoming title contenders again.

"If we play our stuff, if we are the team we believe we can be, we can win," said Itoje. "There is not a team in this tournament that we can't beat."

The 30-year-old lock added: "We know Ireland are a great team and the Aviva is a great place to play... These are the challenges that bring out the best out of myself and the team."

Scotland have become increasingly competitive under coach Gregor Townsend but a side featuring gifted playmaker Finn Russell have sometimes sold themselves short and they will likely need to overcome both France and Ireland if they are to win their first title of the Six Nations era.

But Italy, their opponents at Murrayfield on Saturday, also helped deny the Scots a rare top-two finish with a shock 31-29 win in Rome last year.

"Losing out there is something that we were obviously very disappointed with," said Scotland back-row Matt Fagerson. "It derailed our tournament a bit."

He added: "Credit to Italy, they did really well at home last year so hopefully, we're going to turn it around."

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Italy's entry into the tournament, with the Azzurri looking to build on two wins and a draw in 2024 -- their best Six Nations return -- after a string of poor performances led to questions over their future involvement.

"The most important thing for us is to keep improving, keep going in that direction," said Italy captain Michele Lamaro.

"There are a lot of expectations on us, now the other teams are looking at us differently."

A.Little--TNT