Six Nations star learns tough lesson after going high on 149kg Posolo Tuilagi
You would have thought that France and Toulouse star Thomas Ramos would have learnt his lesson about what happens when you go high on massive ball carriers when he came off second best against Lyon’s Josua Tuisova recently. But no, he did not learn his lesson, and history unfortunately repeated itself.
This time it was not Tuisova running full pelt at him, rather the 149kg Perpignan lock Posolo Tuilagi, which is perhaps a slightly different prospect, but equally as unappealing. The 18-year-old Tuilagi might not pose the same explosive power that the Fijian possesses, but 149kg players are rarely easy to put down in professional rugby.
Worse still for Ramos, he had to suffer the indignity of being fended off as if he were a child trying to attack an adult. Tuilagi simply reached out his arm, and continued to work his way up field with the Frenchman at the end of it, which cannot be the nicest experience for a seasoned international.
Ramos did actually come out on top in this little exchange though, as he was able to get over the ball and win a penalty for not releasing, which is maybe actually the strangest part of the whole sequence.
Take a look at Tuilagi’s carry:
Perpignan went on to record a shock 26-21 at the Stade Aime Giral against the Top 14 leaders. A loss would have condemned them to 13th or 14th place in the table, which would have either resulted in a relegation play-off match (for 13th place) or immediate relegation (for 14th place). Instead, they have a chance to sneak into 12th place in the final match of the season against fellow strugglers Castres, but would also need to rely on 12th place Pau losing to Montpellier. Meanwhile, Toulouse hold a slender two point lead at the top of the table heading into their final match against Brive.
