A suspense-filled finale at Arboras with Nice’s comeback in the very last minutes of play and a hard-fought victory against a tough and well-organized opponent.
Béziers, unbeaten after the first two games, thought they had done what was necessary to remain so following an unremarkable yet serious performance. Indeed, with less than 2 minutes left on the clock, the red and blues maintained a 5-point lead over their opponents when Malavard had a penalty kick opportunity. Expecting a kick to touch, the Nice bench, to everyone’s surprise, opted for the 3 points which the local fullback achieved.
The risky option proved its worth when Béziers committed another foul seconds later, and Malavard (again), from 50 meters, gave Nice the 3 points and a victory well-deserved by the superiority shown by the Azurean forwards who bombarded the Béziers defense throughout the match, despite a certain lack of finish by the three-quarters and a disastrous evening by fly-half Mc Hugh, which prevented giving the score more substance. This forced the locals to chase their opponents’ score throughout the match, except during the few minutes following Espagno’s try after a spectacular breakthrough by Mc Kay after the break, and before the Béziers kickers, including Merthens acting as metronome, returned their team to the lead on the scoreboard.
All this led to the finale after the substitution of the Nice halfback pairing, which spiced up the violet and black attacks and concluded with a charge worthy of cavalry.
This result is also important for the club in the midst of organizational and corporate reconstruction, providing a breath of fresh air, at least morally.
As for the sporting significance, we leave it to Marc-André Doumergue, recently appointed General Director in charge of the senior teams after the annulment of the resolutions from the SASP’s general assembly on June 4th, where he was named General Manager: “I believe a result like tonight’s can change the course of our season. We could have regretted losing a match within our reach due to our kicker’s inadequacy, yet we win by the skin of our teeth. It bodes well for the rest of the season! And bravo and thanks to the players who never gave up.”
RUGBY NICE CA – BEZIERS: 19-18 (3-9)
1 try by Espagno, 1 conversion by Mc Hugh, 2 penalties by Mc Hugh, and 2 penalties by Malavard.
Next match (4th round):
October 3rd in Romans
