The starting back of the Blues, who has always had to fight to win his place in club and country, is now one of Fabien Galthié’s key men. The French XV will face South Africa on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Nothing was ever given to him. Thomas Ramos’ journey with the French team is anything but a straight trajectory. The current starting back of the XV of France has long been champing at the bit, observed the competition at his position, and each time seized his chance to convince Fabien Galthié that he had the makings of a starter. At 28 years old, it is now a done deal, but Thomas Ramos has overcome more than one obstacle since his first selection, in February 2019.
That year, the native of Mazamet (Tarn), who played at Stade Toulouse after appearing on loan at Colomiers (Pro D2) in 2016-2017, traveled to Japan in November for the World Cup. Starting in the second match, he injured his ankle, and the medical staff rushed him back to France. His World Cup is over, but he only returns to the club pitches… ten days later, after the green light from the doctors.
A decision difficult to digest for him and for the supporters, and which then caused controversy. “It was hard to accept. I don’t really understand what happened. As much from a sporting point of view, I can understand, as much as medically…. It happened very, very quickly. When I returned to Toulouse, I I cried a lot. I’m not ashamed to say it. You have to cry sometimes, it feels really good!” he confided in the columns of The Team at the start of the World Cup on September 10. “When there is frustration or disappointment, it is important to let go so as not to keep any, and I think that is actually how he rebuilt himself and moved forward.”observes former international winger Vincent Clerc, in a sport where negative emotions and sensitivity are frequently buried.
Finally high up
The episode alone sums up the thwarted history of Thomas Ramos with the XV of France from 2019 to 2022. Always in the group, often replacing, sometimes starting. “There were ups and downs. But I never gave up. Every time I was sent back to the club, I said to myself: ‘No problem, I’ll show them that I have the level'”, he always revealed in The Team. But the rear never disunited: “There is a shift after this World Cup, whether at club or national level.notes our consultant.
Having become indispensable at Stade Toulouse, Thomas Ramos was first in the shadow of Maxime Médard (also a competitor for his club position) in the selection, but also of Anthony Bouthier, then of Brice Dulin, and finally of Melvyn Jaminet in the rear post. The latter had shined in the 2022 Six Nations Tournament, and seemed to have locked the position. But his injury in the fall revived his competitor, who once again seized the opportunity, never to go down in the hierarchy again.
“He was far behind at the start. He had selections with Guy Novès. With Fabien Galthié, it was up and down. He’s really one of the players who most deserved his selection. He was fought to get there.”
Vincent Clerc, rugby consultantat franceinfo: sport
Its versatile profile (it can also be placed in fly-half) convinced Fabien Galthié to include him in his starting XV, especially since Romain Ntamack suffered several injuries at the No. 10 position. His ability to play under pressure has rooted him behind the three-quarters as the first receiver, and as a scorer.
“In addition to his qualities as a great scorer, his risk-taking is controlled, and it pays off every time. There is no pointless gesture. He is not there to put on a show”continues Vincent Clerc. “I have always hated losing. For me, a bad loser, that has always been a quality”, confided Thomas Ramos to France Bleu Occitanie, before the opening match. In this World Cup, the number 15 of the French team ranks 5th in the number of passes, behind the three scrum halves (Dupont, Lucu, Couilloud) and the number 10 Matthieu Jalibert, who have much more of the ball heart of the game. A sign that he is also one of the French strategists.
At the club, he is also unstoppable, while his leaders put Maxime Médard and Yoann Huget, then Melvyn Jaminet and Ange Capuozzo, in his hands. “I recently read an interview with LeBron James, who explained the importance of ‘playing IQ’ in team sports. And Thomas, he simply has a superior rugby IQ. It’s not by chance, but by work: rugby IQ is not just about feeling the game well”revealed in the columns of Olympic Midday on October 2 the Italian prodigy Capuozzo, whom Ramos faced on Friday.
But it’s his precision against the poles that keeps him in his position, no matter what’s at stake. During the 2023 Six Nations Tournament at the start of the year, he was became the new best French director in an edition, with 84 points scored, surpassing Gérald Merceron, author of 80 points during the 2002 Grand Slam.At the start of the Tournament, I didn’t know that this record existed, but I am very happy to beat it and I hope that it will be beaten in the future: it shows that the French team is doing well“, Ramos humbly admitted.
86% success rate at the World Cup
During this home World Cup, Thomas Ramos passed all the tests without incident, from the opening match against New Zealand, where he kept his team in contact in the first half, to that against Italy , where he missed only one of his eight kick attempts. In total, in his three matches played (he was on the bench against Uruguay), he recorded an excellent 25/29 kick, or 86% success rate.
He only missed two penalties (6/8) and only one conversion (19/20). “A very good scorer is essential today. There are several in the French team, but he has a very good percentage and that is essential”, develops Vincent Clerc. The Springboks, struggling in this sector before recalling Handré Pollard, know something about this: their two scorers, Manie Libokk and Faf de Klerk, respectively posted 55% and 50% success rates in the group stage.
His consistency at the foot is such that in just four years, Ramos is already the ninth best scorer in the history of the French XV (261 points). For comparison, Frédéric Michalak, number 1 in this ranking, has 436 units in 15 years with the Blues. “He assumed a high-pressure status in very high-level matches, and he always delivered exceptional performances, when they needed to be released”underlines Clerc.
The Blues will need his unfailing calm, his silky feet and his touch of madness against South Africa in the quarter-finals, in an adversity quite different from their last three matches (Uruguay, Namibia and Italy) . If the match turns out to be close, France will be able to rely on the current top scorer in the competition (61 points – one try, six penalties, 19 conversions). In his own way, Thomas Ramos has come a long way, and around Antoine Dupont, he undoubtedly holds one of the main keys to opening the door to a first world title for France.