'No one is near him atm' - Aaron Smith hails Dupont as the world's best

Aaron Smith says Antoine Dupont is "on another level" to any other player in the world as the mercurial scrum-half strives to end France's Six Nations title drought.

Dupont tormented Italy in the first match of the tournament, proving four assists – equalling compatriot Frederic Michalak's record for a single Six Nations match – and scoring a try of his own in a 50-10 rout at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

The playmaker became the seventh man to lay on three or more tries in a game in the competition, also joining Michalak and former number nine Austin Healey as the only players to have been directly involved in five tries in a match in this tournament. 

Dupont was a constant menace to the Azzurri as he pulled the strings in a livewire display before he was given the chance to put his feet up just before the hour mark.

New Zealand scrum-half Smith, who has earned 97 caps and won the Rugby World Cup in 2015, rates the 24-year-old Toulouse pivot as being a cut above any other player on the planet.

Responding to a tweet from the Six Nations official account asking who is the best player in the world, Smith posted: "@Dupont9A this guy is on another level!

"No one is near him atm. He's the point of difference for both his club and country. He's helping me look at parts of my game to improve. #Respect #9Gang"

@Dupont9A this guy is on another level! No one is near him atm. He’s the point of difference for both his Club and country. He’s helping me look at parts of my game to improve #Respect #9Gang

— Aaron Smith (@Te_Nug) February 10, 2021

Ireland will have to keep Dupont quiet at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday when they look to get up and running following a 21-16 defeat to Wales in Cardiff.

This isn't the first time Dupont has earned the praise of the All Black scrumhalf as Smith singled Dupont out in August last year when hosting a Twitter Q&A.

Asked by a follower: 'Best northern hemisphere 9 right now?', Smith again name-dropped Dupont saying: DuPont France 9 (He is Unreal) #9Gang'  

Dupont was in fine for France during the opening weekend of the Six Nations with his performance earning him a place in our team of the week and we picked him out as our player of the weekend.