Antoine Dupont carried off pitch as France's Six Nations gamble dealt hammer blow

French talisman Antoine Dupont has been forced off less than half an hour into their Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin.

Fabien Galthie's side need to win at the Aviva Stadium to keep their title hopes alive.

Typically, Dupont had been involved in the opening exchanges, sending over wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey for the opening try.

That score came after Ireland had dominated the opening quarter without troubling the scorers.

Just as France looked to be in the ascendancy, leading 5-0 after Bielle-Biarrey's try, their hopes of victory took a knock when scrum-half Dupont limped off after just 28 mins.

The injury came just moments after a typically silky piece of skill, with Dupont firing a pass behind his back into the field of play from the touchline.

However, not long after, he was down receiving treatment which ultimately led to him limping off.

Attempting a jackal penalty, Ireland second-row Tadhg Beirne landed awkwardly on the scrum-half's leg - forcing him off.

The blow was made worse for France as they have named just one back on the bench. Opting for a risky 7-1 split again, after hammering Italy with seven forwards on the bench, they were forced to use their only backline option early.

Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu replaced Dupont, with Galthie left facing the prospect of putting a forward in the backline later in the match.

The 7-1 split has been criticised in some quarters recently. South Africa have been derided by former Scotland coach Matt Williams for the ploy, while current Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has reportedly laid out his concerns in a recent World Rugby meeting.