Thomas Ramos plays with a swagger that encourages supporters to scooch forward and perch on the edge of their seats. Some players look the part physically, others appear nonchalant in discharging their duties on a rugby pitch; Ramos combines style and substance in the way that he plays the game but does possess a spiky edge to his personality on occasion.
The most recent high-profile illustration of this sangfroid came in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final victory over the Sharks. The South African side’s fullback Boeta Chamberlain sent a diagonal, low slung kick into the Toulouse 22, forcing Ramos to turn sharply to win a footrace with Lukhanyo Am.
As the ball bobbled two metres from his line, the 27-year-old French international had several options but few, if anyone, would have anticipated his decision to opt for a cushioned, side-foot, soccer-style, six metre pass, back over the try line to his team-mate Romain Ntamack, the Toulouse outhalf completing the clearance.
Ramos’ chutzpah was widely admired in the aftermath without a dissenting voice, including presumably Ntamack who didn’t seem surprised or fazed by his fullback’s improvisation. It is rare that the Mazamétain is caught out of position, even fleetingly.
France defence coach Shaun Edwards, not a man given to mollycoddling players verbally, said of Ramos. “He has got my ultimate respect because he has shown what a fighter he is. I am proud to have coached him.
“He is such an intelligent player, he is so smart, and his positional play is brilliant. If you look at the number of times, he catches the ball on the full when someone kicks it, it is not by accident, it is because of his instinct. I think he hardly missed any kicks at goal either, he was over 80 per cent, which is vital in modern-day rugby.”
More of that placekicking prowess anon but Edwards observation is something about which Leinster will have to be mindful at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon in terms of the kicking game. It’s important that they find grass and not the fullback’s midriff.
There’s little doubt that he thinks like the outhalf – he was one essentially and still is from time to time before being relocated – and that facilitates an ability or instinct to decipher the list of options available and successfully second guess the opposing 10 more often than not.
As he demonstrated against Scotland in the recent Six Nations Championship when picking off Finn Russell’s long pass, he’s attuned to opportunity, whatever form it takes.
Providing Ramos with frequent possession eventually spells trouble. Leinster’s world player of the year, Josh van der Flier, in the middle of discussing Toulouse’s myriad threats ventured: “Thomas Ramos, with his ability to attack all the balls, is another problem to deal with.”
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To understand his personality, it’s worth a quick potted history of his rugby roots. As a five-year-old he enrolled in the local rugby club SC Mazamet, located in the Tarn, and played there until Toulouse offered him a place at the club shortly after his 15th birthday.
Although he started his first French Top 14 at 18, in February 2014, and played for France across several age-grade teams, he was not initially included in the short-term plans of Ugo Mola when the former player and current head coach took over that role in the summer of 2015.
Ramos failed to get game time the following season and was loaned out to Colomiers, a decision that was to have a positive outcome. He was voted the ProD2 player of the season for 2016-2017, scoring 345 points. The prodigal son returned to open arms at Toulouse and established himself as Mola’s first choice at fullback.
He made his senior debut for France against England at Twickenham in 2019 and was a member of the Grand Slam winning team (2022), albeit that he had lost the starting jersey to the then 22-year-old Perpignan fullback Melvin Jaminet, who made his Test bow on the previous summer’s tour to Australia.
When Toulouse announced that they were signing Jaminet last summer, Ramos was set for a battle royale for the 15 jersey at club and country but it hasn’t panned out that way. Jaminet’s season has been ravaged by injuries, the latest of which saw him sidelined with an ankle problem.
Ramos, who has won a Champions Cup (2021) and French Top 14 titles with Toulouse, has flourished, the only hiccup a five-week suspension after he was sent off in a Champions Cup game against the Sale Sharks last December.
He was found guilty of striking Byron McGuigan with his head and was also cited by the match commissioner, Ireland’s Ed Kenny, for contacting the eye or eye area of scrumhalf Gus Warr. The disciplinary tribunal upheld both citings – Ramos accepted the first finding but not the second and was therefore not given full mitigation in terms of the ban.
He returned in time to score 66 points for France in the Six Nations and 63 to date in this season’s Champions Cup. There are other metrics to measure his effectiveness in Europe for Toulouse, leading the metres made category (300), second in try assists (three) and third behind Antoine Dupont and Ntamack in defenders beaten (16).
Like any player his game is not without weaknesses. At five foot, eight inches Leinster would like to isolate him in an aerial contest with Robbie Henshaw, while also looking to test his resilience in the tackle.
On the flip side they’ll be keenly aware that Ramos’ counter attacking instincts, the ability to find and exploit space, his kicking game, including the placed ball, and big match temperament render him a formidable opponent who ideally they’d like to keep very much on the periphery for 80-minutes on Saturday afternoon.
