Sharks coach John Plumtree acknowledged the significant threat posed by Antoine Dupont in their Investec Champions Cup clash against Stade Toulousain at Kings Park Stadium on Saturday.

Dupont, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world after leading Toulouse to the Investec Cup triumph last season, presented a constant challenge throughout the match.

The encounter pitted two European champions against each other, with the Sharks claiming the Challenge Cup title in the previous season. However, Toulouse proved superior in all facets of the game, securing a 20-8 victory.

Emmanuel Meafou and Blair Kinghorn scored tries for Toulouse, while full-back Thomas Ramos contributed two conversions and two penalties. This victory solidified Toulouse’s perfect start to the competition, with three wins from three matches.

“I’m going to ask him if he wants to play for the Sharks and see some of the beautiful beaches and game farms here,” joked Plumtree. 

“Obviously, he is a great player. He is such a threat and around the rucks and certainly we had to watch him. 

“I thought he had some good moments and a few mistakes by his standards. He’s probably because he is rusty, but I thought the conditions to play rugby here and in this time of the year, certainly stresses the skillsets of the players even the good ones. 

“I think that is probably why the game was a bit stop-start and they came to us with some bigger moments – applying pressure through attack and we had to make a lot of tackles on Saturday.”  

The match could be seen as a form of revenge for the French, following their defeat to South Africa’s Springboks in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in 2023. Notably, Eben Etzebeth, who missed the match due to injury, was sin-binned during that game despite scoring a powerful try.

The Sharks were also without several Springbok players, including Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, and Aphelele Fassi, who played crucial roles in South Africa’s Rugby Championship victory last year.

Plumtree acknowledged that a full-strength Sharks side would have made the match more competitive.

“I mean if we had a full-strength Sharks side out there would have made it more interesting,” he said. 

“But I don’t want to discredit the players that we had out there. Everyone tried really hard and obviously little disruptive moment when we lose players every week.  

“It shows you this calendar season that the squad we have has got to be quality.”   

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 11: Antoine Dupont (c) of Toulouse during the Investec Champions Cup match between Hollywoodbets Sharks and Stade Toulousain at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Steve Haag Sports)