Romain Ntamack brings the best out of Antoine Dupont - it's a big blow for France

They come as a pair in the blue of France or red-and-black of Toulouse. But they have an on-pitch relationship that goes beyond most scrum-half/fly-half standards

BIG LOSS: France's Romain Ntamack scores a try despite Kyle Steyn of Scotland before going off injured later in that game. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

There is a tendency this close to a major sporting tournament - such as a rugby World Cup - for fans to fixate nervously on injuries.

It goes with the territory. The prospect of an international missing part or all of a tournament is, ‘a blow’, ‘a worry’, and/or ‘a heartbreak’. Adjectives, of the ‘massive’ or ‘major’ kind, twang pre-tournament anxiety accordingly.