“In Fédérale 1, we can finally talk about rugby.” Christophe Moni, the new coach of Rugby Nice Côte d’Azur, summarizes the level of Fédérale 1, the amateur elite. 48 teams make up the third division. Clubs like Colomiers, Nîmes, Lourdes, and Graulhet feature with budgets that can go up to 2 million euros. Nice had a comfortable budget for Fédérale2 but one level up it will be average. With the contraction of the elite (14 clubs in Top 14 and 16 in Pro D2), and with the recruitment of foreign players, Fédérale1 is a breeding ground for young players who cannot claim to have playing time in professional rugby. Thus, RNCA has recruited many hopefuls from Toulon under the advice of Manu Boutet, who will be Christophe Moni’s assistant and who was in charge of the youth teams at the club from the bay. Christophe Moni will rely on the squad from last season (only five departures) and Rudi Dames, the South African scrum-half and kicker, fullback Laurent Buchet, New Zealand flanker Dean Moxham, and Julien Kinane, three-quarter, will play the role of the backbone of the Azur XV. 13 players have already signed. A number eight, a hooker, and an experienced tight-head prop are expected. Christophe Moni wanted a larger group to cope with injuries and the sequence of matches. A fitness coach, Nicolas Szezur, a rugby sevens specialist, has joined the staff. With these reinforcements, both players and management, RNCA aims for survival. There is also the ambition to fill the Arboras. Last year, on a few occasions, more than 2000 spectators crowded into the stands. The leadership harbors the secret hope that this will be the case at all matches, every Sunday so that the people of Nice can gather for the second national sport.
“We must hold on to Fédérale1. It’s the absolute priority. But we cannot be satisfied with Fédérale 1. We are not a village club. We must climb even if we do not set a date. In eight months, we will not be ready,” explains Julien Schramm, the club’s general director. Jokingly or not, Christian Baldacchino, president of RNCA, predicts: “In one or two centuries, we will be in TOP 14!” If RNCA has been promoted on the green carpet of luck, it is to reward them for having structured so well, for betting on a rugby school, for having development ideas for rugby in so-called “disadvantaged” areas, and for having healthy finances. It is also thanks to the many partnerships found by marketing director Paul-Henri Safayan. On the field, RNCA’s progress was not spectacular. It was backstage. It’s an entire club that has moved up to Fédérale1. “The promotion will enter the daily life of all the kids in the club,” predicts President Baldacchino. Serenely, the leaders will continue on the same path: “Fédérale1 will force us to excel in our skills, sports, financial, and training.” May RNCA excel, that’s all we can wish for Nice rugby!
