France – New Zealand. “He made a few mistakes, but we will tell him at the debrief on Monday”: when Thomas Ramos humorously criticizes his captain Antoine Dupont

Teammates in Toulouse and the French team, friends in life, Thomas Ramos and Antoine Dupont know each other well. Very good indeed. At the end of their respective careers, they will be able to look back fondly on their pivotal association during this prestigious victory against the All Blacks one evening in November 2024. Before that, at the final whistle at the Stade de France, it was time for smiles and… cheers. Questioned by the broadcaster TF1 about their complicity, Thomas Ramos – author of a remarkable game against the New Zealanders -, paid tribute to his captain without failing to add a touch of humor to his scrum half: “With a player like Antoine, who is a great player and who scares all the opposing defenses, it is obviously easier. The opposing players are on him all the time, and therefore that gives us more freedom to express ourselves “He was clean, even if he made a few mistakes out of camp, but we won't tell him, we'll tell him at the debrief.”.

When we have such strong pressure, for a hinge, it is not easy

The Blues suffered against the Blacks, but despite the superiority of the New Zealanders in certain sectors, they found solutions to win in an unbreathable encounter. To stay on Ramos' amusing rebuke, the main person was quick to react upon hearing his partner. “It's quite comfortable for him, it's me who takes all the games. But I know he won't tell me because I know him and he knows that those are the first things I I noted my match. We'll talk in the showers.Dupont had fun on the pitch at the Stade de France.

With a little more seriousness, the captain of the Blues mentioned “the great victory” of the XV of France, a success which gives “confidence for the rest of [leur] route, of [leur] adventure and [leur] new cycle.”but also the pressure put by the “Neo-Z” on the hinge: “With Thomas, we have a lot of automatisms, it's a position he knows with Toulouse. When we have such strong pressure, for a hinge, it's not easy. The big guys did the work on the sector defensively but I believe that in the offensive sector, we have some room, especially on the rucks: we had too many balls contested.”