Injured Dupont backs France to win Six Nations without him after toppling Ireland

LONDON (AP) — France will try to win the Six Nations without its talisman after captain Antoine Dupont ruptured cruciate ligaments in his right knee at the weekend.

Dupont was confident his teammates can take their first title since 2022 next Saturday — “You will do it,” he wrote on Instagram — after demolishing defending champion Ireland 42-27 in Dublin. The scoreline flattered Ireland, whose hopes of an historic third successive title in the Six Nations era were crushed.

By the time France faces Scotland in Paris in the tournament finale it will know what it has to do as second-placed England and third-placed Ireland will have finished their campaigns against Wales in Cardiff and Italy in Rome respectively.

England used a licence to thrill to wallop Italy 47-24 on Sunday, a day after Scotland held off a Wales fightback 35-29 at Murrayfield.

Here's the AP's take on a penultimate round with 27 tries:

The biggest match of the championship lived up to the hype in Dublin, and superstar Antoine Dupont played only a fleeting part. Ironically, thumping winner France had more gripes with the game than Ireland afterward because of how Dupont suffered his tournament-ending, possibly season-ending knee injury. But there will be no sanction against Ireland players for the ruck clearout by the citing commissioner. Seeing the captain injured and crying in the changing room at halftime spurred France to even greater heights in the second half. It was the perfect payback for France. Last year in Marseille, it suffered a red card and Ireland won with its highest score on French soil, 38. This time, Irish ill-discipline helped France post its highest score on Irish soil, 42. The hosts played a man short for 20 minutes each against Wales and France in the latest rounds and conceded 15 points during the down times in both games. But while Ireland was good enough to get away with it against Wales, it wasn't against France. The visitor's powerful second-half surge was also underpinned by terrific defense in the first 15 minutes that repelled wave after wave of Irish attackers. The stats didn't lie: By halftime, France had made 106 tackles to Ireland's mere 40, and six dominant to none by Ireland. After being knocked over then run over, Ireland conceded its most points at home in 20 years.

South Africa debuted the ‘bomb squad,’ a reserves bench with an almost second pack of forwards, in 2019. The traditional forwards-backs split is 5-3. The first time the Springboks went to an extreme 7-1 was in 2023. Since the tactic has helped them win the last two Rugby World Cups, other teams with powerful depth have made the choice in vogue. For the first time this winter, Ireland went to 6-2 to counter France's second ever 7-1. France's first time was two weeks ago when it beat Italy 73-24. England and Italy went 6-2. Scotland and Wales were traditional. Critics of bomb squads say it goes against the spirit of the game and discriminates against backs. World Rugby won't say where it stands until it finishes researching the injury risk of tactical replacements. A bomb squad is a gamble on not bearing any excessive injuries to backs, but teams plan contingencies. At the weekend, France used its only back reserve, the superb Maxime Lucu, when Antoine Dupont was hurt. And when midfielder Pierre-Louis Barassi left with a head knock, he was seamlessly replaced by flanker Oscar Jegou. England also used a hybrid forward for center Fraser Dingwall. Flanker Ben Earl returned for the last few minutes and scored the last try.

Italy at Twickenham came at the perfect time for England. The English put a blowtorch on themselves for the last two weeks by the ho-hum way in which they overcame Scotland last time out. Too much kicking and too little attacking intent were ammunition for critics, many of them England greats. New captain Maro Itoje hit back saying the attack wasn't as bad as its said to be. Cue Italy, which has never beaten England but isn't afraid to play. Ironically, Italy scored the two best tries at Twickenham, finished by Ross Vintcent and Ange Capuozzo, but its willingness to have a go exposed it to turnovers in the wrong places and played into England's more clinical expertise. England's 47 points were its most in the championship since 2019 when it put 57 on Italy and 44 on France. Left with only a visit to winless Wales in Cardiff, England has tallied 15 tries, its most since 2019 also. For a team which was losing games it should have won not long ago, it has completed a three-game home stand against the blue shirts — France, Scotland, Italy — with a hat trick of wins. England is only a point behind leader France going into the final round.

While nearly all of his Scotland teammates rested during the Six Nations' last fallow weekend, Blair Kinghorn played a full game at fullback for his Toulouse club and bagged a try in a French Top 14 thrashing of Vannes. Kinghorn then flew back to Edinburgh and gave an all-action, two-try effort against Wales. So enamored of him was TV that it even live broadcast him being ill on the pitch. Kinghorn has never been on a Lions tour but his ability to also play wing and flyhalf boosts his credentials. Rookie teammate Tom Jordan also touched down twice, appearing to be feeling more comfortable at inside center. They were maestroed by Finn Russell, who was also 5-for-5 off the tee after failing against England. Other weekend standouts included Wales captain Jac Morgan and former captain Dafydd Jenkins, Ireland skipper Caelan Doris on the occasion of his 50th cap, and England forwards Ollie Chessum and Tom Curry, who hobbled off after 55 strong minutes against Italy.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Scotland's Finn Russell lifts the The Doddie Weir Cup following the Men's Six Nations rugby union match the Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)

England's Ollie Chessum palms the ball down in a line out during the Six Nations rugby match between England and Italy at Twickenham stadium in London, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Tom Curry dives over the line to score a try during the Six Nations rugby match between England and Italy at Twickenham stadium in London, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Scotland's Tom Jordan, left, tackled by Wales's Max Llewellyn during the Men's Six Nations rugby union match between Scotland and Wales the Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

France's Antoine Dupont leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and France, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)

France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey, top, celebrates after his teammate Damian Penaud scored a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and France, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday loosened federal rules that require grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment, a step President Donald Trump said would help lower grocery costs.

Trump, at a White House ceremony, said the action by the Environmental Protection Agency would “substantially lower costs for consumers” by delaying costly restrictions that limit the type of refrigerants U.S. businesses and families can use.

The move to relax the Biden-era rules on harmful pollutants known as HFCs emitted by refrigerators and other appliances was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to try to address rising voter concerns over the cost of living ahead of pivotal elections in November.

It is not clear how much or how quickly the loosening of the refrigerant rule might impact grocery prices. Industry groups said the move could even raise prices because manufacturers have already redesigned products, retooled factories and trained workers to build and service next-generation refrigerant equipment.

Inflation in the United States increased to 3.8% annually in April, amid price spikes caused by the Iran war and President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Inflation is now outpacing wage gains as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.

The Biden-era regulation was “unnecessary and costly and actually makes the machinery worse,” Trump said at a ceremony joined by top executives from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and other grocery chains. The EPA action will protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and save Americans more than $2 billion a year, he said.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, which represents more than 330 HVAC manufacturers and commercial refrigeration companies, said the change in approach would “inject uncertainty across the market” and could even raise prices.

“This rule works against basic supply and demand,” said Stephen Yurek, the group’s president and CEO. “By extending the compliance deadline” for phasing out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, the administration “is maintaining and even increasing demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall.”

Manufacturers have already retooled product lines and certified models based on the existing timeline, Yurek said. Nearly 90% of residential and light commercial air conditioning systems use substitute refrigerants, rather than HFCs, he said.

The administration's action on refrigerants represents a reversal after Trump signed a law in his first term that aimed to reduce harmful, planet-warming pollutants emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners. That bipartisan measure brought environmentalists and major business groups into rare alignment on the contentious issue of climate change and won praise across the political spectrum.

The 2020 law reflected a broad bipartisan consensus on the need to quickly phase out domestic use of HFCs, greenhouse gases that are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide and are considered a major driver of global warming.

The EPA action highlights the second Trump administration’s drive to roll back regulations perceived as climate friendly. The plan is among a series of sweeping environmental changes that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said will put a “dagger through the heart of climate change religion.”

Environmentalists criticized the administration’s actions, saying the new rule would exacerbate climate pollution while disrupting a yearslong industry transition to new coolants as an alternative to HFCs.

The 2020 law signed by Trump, known as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, phased out HFCs as part of an international agreement on ozone pollution. The law accelerated an industry shift to alternative refrigerants that use less harmful chemicals and are widely available.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council, the top lobbying group for the chemical industry, were among numerous business groups that supported the law and an international deal on pollutants, known as the Kigali Amendment, as victories for jobs and the environment. U.S. companies such as Chemours and Honeywell developed and produce the alternative refrigerants sold in the United States and around the world.

The 2023 rule now being relaxed imposed steep restrictions on HFCs starting in 2026. Zeldin said the rule from the Democratic Biden administration did not give companies enough time to comply and that the rapid switch to other refrigerants caused shortages and price increases last year. Some in the industry dispute this.

The Food Industry Association, which represents grocery stores and suppliers, applauded the Trump EPA proposal last year, saying the earlier rule “imposed significant and unrealistic compliance timelines.”

FILE - A shop owner reaches into a drink display refrigerator at his convenience store in Kent, Wash., Oct. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)