French Icon Thierry Dusautoir Previews 2025 Guinness Six Nations
French Icon Thierry Dusautoir Previews 2025 Guinness Six Nations
Thierry Dusautoir predicts France will win the Six Nations, Italy will finish above Wales again and Antoine Dupont’s return will boost Les Bleus.
French rugby legend Thierry Dusautoir believes France will clinch the 2024 Six Nations title but does not see the squad securing a Grand Slam.
In an exclusive interview with Genting Casino, the former France captain also suggested that Italy once again will finish ahead of Wales amidst its recent struggles.
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Dusautoir sees France’s opening fixture against Wales as an ideal opportunity to gain early momentum in the tournament.
“Welsh rugby is in a bad place,” he said. “For France, playing at home is very important. It is a good place to start for us. Wales have a lot of young players without much international experience. We have to take this opportunity to win the game and to give us confidence.”
Wales, under Warren Gatland, has endured a difficult transition period, and Dusautoir believes their lack of experience will be exploited by more established teams.
While Dusautoir is confident France will reclaim the Six Nations crown, he predicts a shake-up in the lower half of the table.
“My ranking would be: No. 1 France, No. 2 Ireland, No. 3 England, No. 4 Scotland, No. 5 Italy, and No. 6 Wales,” he said.
Dusautoir highlighted Italy’s progress, particularly under head coach Gonzalo Quesada, and pointed to the team's young, exciting backs as a key reason for the upward trajectory.
“Italy were quite interesting during the last Six Nations," he said. "They have some young and very promising backs. Italy are still improving, and Quesada is doing a good job there. I remember last year, they should have won against us. They deserved it, too, I hope they’re starting to build some consistency.”
Despite backing Les Bleus for the title, Dusautoir does not believe they will repeat their 2022 Grand Slam triumph.
“I don’t think so," he admitted. "It is possible, but I don’t think so because I don’t think we are at the level of 2022. At the same time, England is coming back slowly, and Ireland is not as weak as some might think. We will win the title, but not as a Grand Slam.”
Dusautoir acknowledged that France went through a difficult transition year in 2024, particularly following the disappointment of its World Cup exit.
“We’ve needed to recover from that disappointment,” he said. “They have also suffered injuries to key players, and with Dupont unavailable, that has helped us push forward other young players such as Romain Bouros and Marko Gazzotti.”
The return of Dupont, whom Dusautoir calls a “phenomenon,” will provide a significant boost. However, France’s injury list remains concerning, with Charles Ollivon, Gaël Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Jean-Baptiste Gros and Cyril Baille all unavailable.
Despite some doubts over Ireland’s form, Dusautoir still sees the Irish as major contenders.
“Andy Farrell’s absence creates a different dynamic," he added. "They didn’t show the normal confidence and control during the Autumn Internationals, so maybe there will be an opportunity there."
However, he questioned who realistically could beat them.
“I don’t think Wales, because they’re not playing good rugby right now," he said. "I don’t know about England, because it’s not the English team of a few years ago, but they did well in New Zealand last summer.”
While he acknowledges Ireland may not be as dominant as before, Dusautoir still sees the team as a force in the tournament.
“It’s true that maybe Ireland is not as good as they used to be, but they still have a good chance," he concluded.
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