Nissa Rugby suffers their second defeat of the season. For the 7th day of the National Championship, the Azuréens traveled to Rouen.
The winning streak ends for Nissa Rugby. Gareth Baber’s men were in Normandy this Friday evening, confident after a series of four consecutive victories, including the latest against Chambéry. Despite this, the Maralpins stumbled against Rouen, a team experiencing a mixed start to the season. Nice arrived as favorites and almost uncontested leaders of the championship.
However, unlike last week, Nice will suffer and concede the first try of the match after about ten minutes. The flanker Lucas Costa puts the hosts ahead (5-0). Nice responds quickly thanks to the boot of Owen Williams, who brings his team within two points with a penalty. Rouen then extends their lead with a successful penalty by Maxime Javaux (8-3).
Unfortunately for Nice, fullback Massimo Ortolan has to give his place to Jean-Pascal Barraque immediately after, most likely due to injury. The score remains unchanged until the end of the first half, even as Rouen is reduced to 14 men.
Nissa Rugby pushes but chases the score
Back from the locker room, Gareth Baber makes substitutions to get his players back on track. But Nice doesn’t take advantage of their numerical superiority. Once back to fifteen against fifteen, Owen Williams scores another penalty (8-6). However, the Niçois concede another try barely two minutes later: Lucas Costa scores a double to give Rouen more breathing room. This time, Maxime Javaux converts, bringing the score to (15-6).
With half an hour to go, Nissa Rugby pushes to respond, and under pressure from the Maralpins, Rouen finds themselves down to 14 men again. Unlike the first time, the Niçois manage to score through Clément Egiziano. The winger brings his teammates to (15-11), but the conversion is missed. Fifteen minutes remain to turn the game around, but Rouen adds three more points through Maxime Javaux, definitively excluding Nice from the defensive bonus.
Nissa Rugby falls (18-11) in Rouen but remains at the top of the championship, two points ahead of Narbonne. Next match: next Saturday at home against Suresnes. Kick-off at 6 p.m.
