Listening to Thomas Ramos in an interview or a press conference is always a pleasure. Direct and completely frank, the Stade Toulousain full-back is no fan of the party line. He proved it again on Friday, ahead of taking on the Durban-based Sharks on Sunday.

Ramos was indeed asked about the competition’s new format. For him, the old formula was far more interesting. “The real H Cup, the one we knew as kids, was more of a dream. But I would be lying if I said a competition does not make me dream. We play to win this competition”.

“We, we are motivated”

He goes on: “But you can see that year after year, you have teams that do not play it, others who allow themselves to rotate, to send lads off on holiday. If you sit down and count how many teams really play this competition, two hands are more than enough. That is a problem, I think… We, we are motivated to go at it full throttle“. There, it has been said.

Those comments were relayed by Midi Olympique and RMC, who were both at Friday’s press conference.