Multiple Authors
Rugby Australia [RA] have repatriated another Wallabies contender ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup, with former Waratahs winger James Ramm set to return home to join Western Force later this year.
Ramm departed the Waratahs at the end of the 2022 Super Rugby season, having fallen out of favour with first-year coach Darren Coleman. But his career has gone from strength to strength in England, where he has become a permanent fixture in the outside backs at Northampton.
While also eligible for England, Ramm has opted to return to Australia and join the Force on a two-year deal after the current Premiership season, putting him back into the frame for Wallabies consideration in what is a swollen outside back cohort.
Ramm was included in Dave Rennie’s inaugural Wallabies squad way back in 2020 but never took to the field.
Ramm played 26 matches across all competitions for Northampton in the 2024-2025 season, culminating in Saints’ loss to Bordeaux in the European Champions Cup Final.
He has played eight games so far this season, with a red card for a mistimed aerial challenge resulting in a two-game suspension late last year.
But he was superb in Northampton’s Premiership Cup win over Harlequins at the weekend, making a break from deep inside his own half to set up a try for teammate Archie MacPharland right on the stroke of halftime.
James Ramm will head home to Australia and join the Western Force on a two-year deal David Rogers/Getty Images
A former junior gymnast, Ramm will strengthen the Force’s back three cohort, one that will in all likelihood wave goodbye to Wallabies veteran Kurtley Beale at the end of the season. A presence in the air and on the turf, Ramm will offer another outside back option to incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss.
Outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt confirmed earlier this month he had spoken with Ramm during last year’s spring tour, with the Kiwi also continuing to track the likes of Tom Hooper, Len Ikitau, Will Skelton, Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou, who are all based in Europe for either the short or longer term.
But there won’t be a return home for Ramm’s Northampton teammate and one-Test Wallabies back-rower Josh Kemeny, after he signed a two-year extension with the Saints late last year.
Kemeny has been in stellar form for Northampton and even captained the club, establishing himself as the Saints’ go-to option at No. 6.
While RA director of performance Peter Horne last year indicated the Giteau Law was effectively redundant and that players could be picked from overseas without any restrictions, Schmidt again reaffirmed the preference remained to favour players from Super Rugby.
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“I had a coffee with Josh last year, he’s still on the radar definitely,” Schmidt said of Kemeny. “There [are] some things I really like about Josh. First of all; he’s a real competitor, he’s got a high volume of work rate; you don’t captain Northampton Saints in your first year unless you’re really contributing to the wider values of the team.
“And he’s a good lineout option as well, where you know I think statistically we didn’t do a great job last year, particularly in that back end. So there are strengths that he has and we’ve had conversations.
“But I think it’s a bit easier for the guys who do reach the 30-cap [Giteau Law marker]. So for Josh that’s a little bit more awkward to be able to involve him directly from overseas when he hasn’t had many caps and he hasn’t played [for the Wallabies] in the last two years either, which you would mean there’s a bit of catch-up for him.”
Kemeny won his first Wallabies cap against Argentina and was then later included in Eddie Jones’ World Cup squad, eventually getting a run Australia’s final pool game with Portugal. But when Melbourne Rebels’ future appeared bleak the following year, Kemeny opted for a move overseas instead of a switch to another Australian Super Rugby franchise.
And he has excelled in green, black and gold since, taking out both the Players’ Player and Coaches’ Player awards for the 2024-25 season.
