In another life, James Ramm could easily have been lining up to play for England against the Wallabies - or even preparing for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a gymnast.
Instead, the Western Force recruit was on Thursday called into the Wallabies squad for the first time in six years, as coach Les Kiss’s troops gathered at Sydney Olympic Park ahead of the spring tour.
Ramm once trained daily as an Olympic gymnastics hopeful, but gave up the sport when he moved to St Joseph’s College and discovered rugby. After injuries curtailed his early career at the Waratahs, Ramm joined Northampton, where he enjoyed four successful seasons in England’s top division.
Eligible to play for England through his father, coach Steve Borthwick let Ramm know he was on his radar – but the utility back wanted to represent the Wallabies and moved home to sign with the Force ahead of next year’s Super Rugby season.
“My mum’s also a Kiwi, so my household at the [rugby] World Cup, it’s scattered around the place,” Ramm, 28, said. “But I think growing up in Australia, this is my home. I started playing rugby here; all my friends and family are here.
“This is my connection, so just being back home under blue skies right now, it’s been really beautiful and it really feels like home.”
Although the opportunity to represent England wasn’t one seriously considered by Ramm, who was called up to the Wallabies extended squad in 2020 under former coach Dave Rennie, his Olympic dream was firmly on the table.
“When I was younger, rugby wasn’t even in the picture at all, I probably didn’t know what rugby was,” Ramm said. “The Olympics was the dream, but I’ll tell you, I’m happy to be standing here now.”
Ramm’s initial progress in rugby at St Joseph’s was slow. He featured on the school’s second and third XVs before joining Randwick and started to show promise. Ramm says his background as a gymnast and slower start to the game has proved beneficial to his rugby career.
“I’ve been back to Joey’s actually a couple of years ago now and had a chat to the seconds and thirds teams and said, ‘Look, it’s not the end of the world [not playing for the first XV]’,” he said.
“If you want to pursue this game, there’s plenty of opportunity after school, and it’s just how badly you want it. It’s not just about making the first XV. I think if any kid sees me and thinks, ‘I might be able to make it’, then I’m happy about that.”
Whether he is selected to win his first cap against England, Ramm is looking forward to catching up with some former Northampton teammates, including ebullient back-rower Henry Pollock.
“I hope he doesn’t watch this or hear this [interview] because I don’t like talking nicely about him,” Ramm joked.
“But, yeah, he’s a special talent and he’s doing a lot for rugby. I had a good bond with him, so I’ll be giving him a couple of messages for sure [ahead of the game].”
Meanwhile, New Zealand Rugby have confirmed that it remains committed to Super Rugby, despite officials there discussing the option of walking away from the competition at a summit in Wellington in October.
According to leaked documents, New Zealand Rugby had forecast losses of $53 million over the next five years unless savings are made, and one of three options proposed was pulling out of Super Rugby and scrapping the National Provincial Championship and starting a new 8-10 team domestic competition.
Instead, New Zealand Rugby will continue to work with Rugby Australia to enhance Super Rugby.
“We’re aligned with Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby clubs that we need people who wake up every day focused on engaging fans, growing revenue and working with broadcasters and the media,” NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster said in a statement on Thursday.
”We’re open to working on things like player movement, a competition-wide salary cap and centralising commercial assets across the key markets. Those are conversations we will now have with Rugby Australia, the Rugby Players Association and the Super Rugby clubs.”
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