France captain Antoine Dupont lived up to expectations as the mercurial scrumhalf made his Six Nations comeback in style to lead France to a 43-0 crushing of Wales in this year's curtain riser on Friday.

Antoine Dupont marked his return to Six Nations duty in stunning style as he underlined his billing as the ultimate all-round rugby player by helping France to a crushing 43-0 victory over Wales in Paris on Friday.

Dupont missed last year's championship as he battled for a place on France's rugby sevens squad for the Paris Olympics.

Needless to say, he made the side and duly scored a brace of tries in the final as France hit gold at their home Games.

It silenced many critics who'd been quick to question the Toulouse scrum-half's decision to favour 7s over the national 15s team.

In addition to his Olympic success Dupont last year won a French Top 14 and Champions Cup double with club Toulouse and guided France to an unbeaten November series.

Against Wales on Friday, Dupont showcased the whole array of his playing abilities, from doughty defence to sniping attack, proving a thorn in the visitors' side at any opportunity.

He darted over the tryline after taking a quick penalty early on, but was held up.

Defence was next, a perfectly-timed man-on-ball tackle on Nick Tompkins snuffing out a potential Welsh attack.

Then came an incredible assist, a pin-perfect cross-field kick for unmarked winger Theo Attissogbe in full play.

(AFP)

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