France superstar Antoine Dupont said on Saturday he was “hungry” as he provided two try-scoring assists in the easy 52-12 win over Japan in Paris on his 15-a-side return.
Dupont had been missing for 13 months as he helped take Les Bleus’ sevens team to a historic Olympic gold medal in July.
The 27-year-old was omnipresent as they stormed to a 31-0 half-time lead over a dismal Japan.
“We started well, the conditions were perfect,” captain Dupont told reporters.
“It was a good moment, I’d been expecting it for a few weeks.
“I had good feelings, I was hungry and enjoyed it.”
Japan coach Eddie Jones heaped praise on the 2021 World Rugby player of the year.
“We gave him far too much time and space,” said Jones.
“When he gets on the front foot he’s able to attack the defenders.
“He looked sharper and I’m sure with another week of training he’ll be sharper.”
France dominated from the get-go, with five tries in the opening 34 minutes.
“Physically we couldn’t cope with France’s size and power,” Jones said.
“We struggled to get on the front foot.”
“When you’re playing on the back foot with inexperienced team it’s difficult to stay in the game,” he added.
France only scored three tries in the second half as Japan crossed twice.
“Consciously or unconsciously there’s always a bit of a let-up when you have a big lead,” Dupont said.
“You pay for it at this level even if we remained consistent.”
“It was more than positive altogether though,” he added.
Jones started his second reign as Japan coach in January, with his first game a heavy defeat by former employers England in June.
He had led Japan to a surprise win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup in his first stint with the Brave Blossoms.
At the start of this year he admitted his goal was to be among the top four ranked sides in the world, but Japan sat in 14th place before the defeat to France.
“That’s a long-term goal,” said Jones. “We weren’t expecting to be there after four months together. But why not?”
