Oh, to be a Toulouse fan… The reigning French champions have long been the standard bearers when it comes to European club rugby, and 2024 is no exception.
Blessed with a squad packed to the gills with world-class talent, Ugo Mola’s side are rugby’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Combining seamlessly with one another at every point, the men in black and red have proven to be simply unplayable at times this season.
Key to this run of form has been the remarkable halfback duo of arguably the game’s best player, Antoine Dupont and French incumbent fullback Thomas Ramos.
Playing in the number ten shirt due to the long-term injury sustained by Romain Ntamack, Ramos has yet to put a foot wrong in his secondary position. Forming a mind meld with Dupont, the duo seem to be playing chess whilst everyone else is playing checkers as they read plays phases ahead.
Never has this been more evident than during their crucial top-of-Pool Two clash with Bath in round four of the Investec Champions Cup.
Leading by five points with four minutes to play, Toulouse were anything but home and dry. Unlike their previous three fixtures, the French powerhouse struggled to put their Gallagher Premiership rivals away.
With the match still in the balance, it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the men as Dupont and Ramos went to work.
Setting up two quick rucks, Toulouse, spearheaded by Dupont, sucked in the Bath defence and crucially removed their backfield cover.
From here, the telepathy between nine and ten kicked into overdrive as Dupont put a sublime grubber kick behind the Bath defence. Sensing it went time, Ramos sprinted after the ball to dot under the posts and, in doing so, put to bed any hopes of a Bath smash-and-grab finish.
This moment would serve as a key reminder to both the French National team and Toulouse what they will be missing as Dupont departs the XV man game in favour of the 7s circuit for the remainder of the season.
Whilst both his club and country have several talented back-ups, there remains only one king and his name is Antoine Dupont.
Antoine Dupont’s vision is next level, along with his connection with Thomas Ramos 🤝
Check out instant #InvestecChampionsCup highlights as @StadeToulousain earn top seeding ⬇️
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 21, 2024
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