Ramos kicks Toulouse to dramatic Top 14 title after extra-time / Photo: Julie SEBADELHA - AFP
NYSE - LSE
Ramos kicks Toulouse to dramatic Top 14 title after extra-time
Full-back Thomas Ramos kicked two dramatic penalty goals in extra-time as Toulouse edged Bordeaux-Begles 39-33 on Saturday to claim a record-extending 24th French Top 14 title.
Ramos' ice-cold kicks consolidated Toulouse's place as the giants of French rugby and denied Bordeaux-Begles a domestic and continental double after lifting the Champions Cup last month.
The 29-year-old slotted 24 points in total as Toulouse secured a third straight Top 14 triumph and an 11th consecutive final victory in all competitions.
Lock Guido Petti and flanker Pierre Bochaton were shown yellow cards for Bordeaux-Begles before scrum-half Maxime Lucu slotted an 80th-minute penalty to send the game to extra-time.
Lucu's kick capped an impressive comeback after they had trailed by 10 points with as many minutes to play at the Stade de France.
On-fire winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey made his first appearance for Bordeaux-Begles since June 7 after recovering from concussion in Yannick Bru's only alteration from last Saturday's semi-final win over Toulon in Bayonne.
Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola made no changes from last Friday's victory over Bayonne with scrum-half Antoine Dupont still out with a serious knee injury.
After a breathless opening quarter in almost 30 degrees Celsius, the sides were level at 6-6 as Lucu and Ramos traded penalties.
It was a stark difference to last season's decider between the teams when Toulouse steamrolled to a 21-0 lead after just 24 minutes in Marseille, with the Stade de France unavailable due to the Paris Olympics.
Petti was yellow carded after half an hour with Toulouse pressing Bordeaux-Begles' line.
By half-time, both defences had been breached and Toulouse held a 20-16 advantage after No 8 Anthony Jelonch and flanker Jack Willis crossed either side of winger Damian Penaud's sublime effort for Bordeaux-Begles.
Bru's hopes of winning a first Top 14 title for the club only founded in 2006 suffered a blow at the break as Bielle-Biarrey failed to return from the changing rooms, with Arthur Retiere taking his place.
Despite Bielle-Biarrey's absence Bordeaux-Begles stayed in the game, as fly-half Matthieu Jalibert scored and Englishman Willis completed a double to make it 27-23 with half an hour to go.
The frantic tempo continued going into a tense final 25 minutes as Ramos slotted his third penalty of the game, with Bochaton yellow carded for a high tackle.
Ramos kicked another three points with Bochaton still in the bin as Mola's men took a stranglehold on the final.
But Petti crossed before Lucu kicked a 40-metre penalty as the full-time gong rang around the stadium to send the match to 20 additional minutes.
Ramos succeeded with the crucial extra-time penalties to send the Toulouse fans delirious.
G.Vella--JdM
