It’s the penalty that every kid who takes up rugby dreams of achieving one day. Saturday evening, Thomas Ramos did not tremble in the 80th minute. And with his right foot, fifty meters from the poles, he offered victory (33-31) to the French XV against England at the end of the Six Nations Tournament, finished in second place by Fabien Galthié’s men. A decisive gesture, told by the Blues, players best placed to experience this action from the flyhalf.
Fabien Galthié, coach of the XV of France: “I went down to the edge of the pitch, I didn’t want to miss it. Like the one at the end against Italy (missed by Paolo Garbisi). I couldn’t do much else, he laughs. Maxime Lucu was keen to bang her. But Thomas said: This one is for me. He was boiling. He didn’t shake.”
Nolann Le Garrec, scrum half of the Blues, on the bench during the kick: “I experienced it a little from the outside, we are spectators like you… But I didn’t have too many doubts. Thomas’ consistency at this level no longer needs to be demonstrated. It was just another kick. It’s almost Mr. 100% every time, it reflects his work all week. I can tell you he doesn’t miss much.
I was very happy for Thomas (he exploded with joy on the bench and had to be calmed by Grégory Alldritt because there was one last action to play), for the whole team, I was very happy that we got back in front , it was deserved. There’s a lot of stuff that came out at that time.”
🏉 #SixNationsRugby | 🇫🇷⚡🏴 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵!🤯
Thanks to this monstrous penalty from Thomas Ramos, the Blues won at the wire against England (33-31) and ended the Tournament on a positive note 🤩 pic.twitter.com/mzAWL4dsyw
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) March 16, 2024
Louis Bielle-Biarrey, winger of the XV of France: “I have 100% confidence in Thomas Ramos and his scoring abilities. I don’t know what to tell you. I went up, I did my job, and I saw that it was happening so I was really happy. We had to quickly switch to the dismissal to secure the victory. Thomas has a lot of experience, he’s been struggling for a long time, he’s used to this kind of situation. I wasn’t that worried.”
Alexandre Roumat, third row of the Blues and partner at Stade Toulouse: “We are lucky to have players like him, who in important moments know how to take the right penalty and change a match. Normally given the score, we place ourselves on the line to go up and follow the kick. But I have great confidence in him, so I took a step back. It was a way of saying that I was pretty confident (laughs). »
Léo Barré, back of the XV of France: “It’s incredible… 50 meters. At the 80th, you have to put it! It shows the player’s talent and experience, it’s really nice for the team. »
