Fullback Thomas Ramos kicked two dramatic penalty goals in extra time as Toulouse edged Bordeaux Begles on Saturday to claim a record-extending 24th French Top 14 title.

Ramos’ ice-cold kicks secured a 39-33 win, consolidating Toulouse’s place as the giants of French rugby and denying 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.

They were however knocked out of the Champions Cup in the semi-finals by Bordeaux Begles last month.

“With the massive slip-up we had in the Champions Cup we couldn’t let another knockout game pass us by,” Ramos said. “Bordeaux Begles would have deserved it too. Tonight, we didn’t doubt ourselves.”

Lock Guido Petti and flanker Pierre Bochaton were shown yellow cards for Bordeaux Begles before scrumhalf 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 7 June 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°C, 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 flyhalf 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 40m 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.

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: @top14rugby/X