Wales' whole focus cannot be on Dupont - Gatland

Men's Six Nations: France v Wales

Venue: Stade de France Date: Friday, 31 January Kick-off: 20:15 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC 5 Live; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on S4C.

Head coach Warren Gatland says Wales have a "huge amount of respect" for France scrum-half Antoine Dupont, but their "whole focus cannot be on him".

Dupont returns to captain Les Bleus in the 2025 Six Nations after missing last year's championship.

The 28-year-old withdrew in order to focus on rugby sevens before the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

It was decision that paid off as Dupont helped France claim a gold medal and was subsequently named World Rugby Men's Sevens Player of the Year.

He links up with Toulouse team-mate Romain Ntamack for Friday's opening game, with Ntamack making his first France appearance for 17 months after suffering a serious injury.

Asked where Dupont rated in terms of rugby's greatest players, Gatland said: "He's definitely up there for that position because of the influence he has on a game."

"He's not the biggest in the world [at 1m 74cm] when you're standing next to him but he's incredibly quick.

"He's powerful. He's got great vision. We've spoken about him a little bit, but our whole focus cannot be on him.

"He's excellent at staying on his feet in contact and keeping the ball alive. You don't see him get tackled a huge amount, unless he's in the wider channels. He's got an excellent kicking game, kicks off both feet.

"We've got a huge amount of respect for him as a player and a captain."

And despite his global talent and recognition, Gatland said one of the things he most admires about Dupont is "how humble he is".

"He's one of those guys who comes from a village not too far from Castres and got recruited by Toulouse," added Gatland.

"I think his upbringing defines him as a person."

Like Dupont, Wales wing Josh Adams also makes a welcome return to international rugby after missing the summer tour and autumn internationals.

He says Dupont "can do everything" and is "probably the best player in the world".

"It's great to see him back in the competition, he's like the star boy of the competition and rightfully so, he's an unbelievable rugby player," said Adams.

But like Gatland, Adams says Wales will not be drawn in on just him.

"If you focus too much energy on just one player, you lose track of the other 14 who are excellent," added Adams.

"The team he has around him complement him really well, they have got a great power game, big forwards which suits his running game around the ruck.

"The majority of our time in camp so far has been about us, just focussing on how we want to attack this campaign and be positive with everything that we do."