Full-back Thomas Ramos returns for Toulouse after exit from Japan
Aminor storm, of sorts, is brewing in French rugby, with Toulouse’s international full-back Thomas Ramos at its eye. He was sent home from the World Cup after picking up a tournament-ending ankle injury in France’s win over Tonga last Saturday.
With Les Bleus’ Pool C match against England in Japan cancelled, a fit-again Ramos started at 15 in the Top 14 derby against Castres this week.
The scandal is not that Toulouse selected an injured player. This is not a welfare issue, despite claims on social media. Ramos would not have played if he was not fit.
Nor is it a communication issue, as was also suggested. Coach Ugo Mola this week told reporters the club had sought and received clearance from France to play the full-back this weekend.
Rather, the scandal is that France appear to have used a minor injury to a player not performing as well as hoped as an excuse to bring in a Hail Mary substitute.
Reports from Japan suggested France’s medical staff were, preHagibis, confident Ramos would be fit for selection against England – but they were apparently overruled by the coaches, who took the chance to call-up La Rochelle’s Vincent Rattez.
Whatever happens, if anything, from here, the episode is another PR disaster for France.
The FFR’s Serge Simon insisted no subterfuge had taken place with regard to Ramos: “You have to understand that we manage risk in clubs differently than in the French team.
“The doctors have not invented anything, here or elsewhere, it is the context that makes the decision much more complex here perhaps than elsewhere.”
Ramos’ presence in the Toulouse starting line-up distracted attention from the through-the-looking-glass state of the Top 14.
Newly-promoted Bayonne started the weekend in third, behind Lyon and Bordeaux, while Toulouse, La Rochelle and Racing 92 languished in the lower reaches of an upside down version of the league.
Ramos was a solid, if quiet, cog in the machine as Clermont-bound scrum-half Sebastien Bezy got the home side roaring. They raced into a 17-0 lead with the strong Autan wind at their backs before Castres got their heads out of the dressing room.
The visitors stemmed the haemorrhaging, but Toulouse were already too far ahead for them to make defiance anything but futile.
It ended 36-15, with cracks papered-over by last week’s big win over Stade Francais clearly visible again for Castres.
Bayonne have been full-fat value for money so far this season, winning four of their opening six games – it’s almost as if former France attack coach Yannick Bru has a point to prove.
They extended that run with a breathless 28-24 victory over Montpellier – their fourth in a row. The visitors were reduced to 14 early in the second-half when fly-half Johann Goosen was sent off for leading with the forearm into a defender.
They were arguably lucky to escape after loosehead Gregory Fichten piled into a ruck at speed. The Basque side’s Jean Monribot left the pitch on a stretcher as a result. One for the citing official, perhaps.
La Rochelle’s Marc Andreu, who returned to action last week after neck surgery, admitted this week that the 12th-placed club “no longer have any margin for error” ahead of the 50th consecutive sell-out match at the 16,000-capacity Marcel Deflandre – one of three Saturday evening matches in France.
But Andreu insisted the players had 'confident with the systems in place' despite starting the weekend in 12th. They needed every one of those systems, as opponents Brive took an early 14-6 lead before the hosts recovered to score five unanswered tries and ease away from the foot of the table with a 41-17 bonuspoint win.
It was business as usual at Lyon, for whom short-term player Mathieu Bastareaud looks increasingly comfortable at eight – until his ankle gave out around the hour.
They touched down after just one minute against Pau – and added another try and five penalties to win 27-8.
Racing's early season struggles continued as they wasted a 47m afterthe-hooter penalty to draw 27-27 against Agen, an undoubtedly gutsy side with a fraction of their hosts' budget, at La Defense Arena.
Rumours continue to swirl around Stade Francais’ Heyneke Meyer. Reports of a reshuffle in the backroom, with Thomas Lombard brought in as general manager, were dismissed as ‘premature’ by Lombard himself – though he admitted discussions have taken place.
Meanwhile, another potential replacement for the under-fire coach was identified in the French Press: Vern Cotter, who was booted upstairs at Montpellier when Xavier Garbajosa arrived from La Rochelle in the summer.
There was little proof to back up the rumour, but a sixth defeat in seven matches on Sunday afternoon, when Stade are at home to Toulon, would send the rumour mill – already in overdrive – into the red zone.
Another World Cup player to return to club action this weekend is Bordeaux’s Argentinian winger Santiago Cordero, who lines up against Clermont in the TV-demanded late Sunday match.
One day, soon, Bordeaux coach Christophe Urios will be able to pick a backline including Cordero, Semi Radradra and Seta Tamanivalu, directed from 10 by a fit-again Mathieu Jalibert.
That will be some sight to behold – from behind the sofa if you’re a fan of the opposition when it happens.
“France appear to have used a minor injury to a player not performing well to bring in a sub”