Pro D2: Nissa Rugby can have regrets after another defeat at Dax

Still no away points for Nissa Rugby. In Dax, the Nice players once again played with numerical inferiority for more than 70 minutes and lost fairly (45-17) despite a good reaction in the second half.

Nissa Rugby wanted to end this first part of the championship well before the break. To do so, they needed to pick up points for the first time this season away from home.

Dax came off a heavy defeat at Colomiers (66-21) and wanted to reverse the trend by making many changes to their starting XV. Same on the Nice side with eight new starters compared to last week and that cruel defeat suffered against Grenoble.

The start of the match was fairly lively. The two teams were sizing each other up physically. And in this very tactical start, it was Nissa Rugby who thought they had struck first on a nice movement initiated from a high loose ball with, on the finish, Boris Goutard. Except on the action, the match referee calls for video review seeing a Dax player on the ground after a poor clearance by Iakopo Mapu. It was double trouble for the Maralpins who saw their try annulled and their number 8 shown a red card after barely more than seven minutes of play.

We were already heading toward another difficult match for the Nice players who were suffering waves of attacks from their opponents. Two minutes later, on a fine movement from Dax’s second row, the home team finally punished Nice by finding a gap. A try perfectly executed by the three-quarters and finally scored by fullback Théo Duprat, converted by his fly-half Romuald Seguy.

Nissa Rugby bent and finally broke once again on a pass feint by the Landes scrum-half, perfectly finished by Théo Gatelier, bringing the score to 14-0 after another conversion. The Dax winger was on the verge of extending the score a few minutes later with wide play before dropping the ball trying to dot down in the in-goal.

The Azuréens were struggling, allowing Dax to progress on every play. Struggling at the contact, the defensive line kept retreating, offering an opportunity for a drop to Romuald Seguy who had been playing well since the start of the match.

With no solution, the Nice players were giving the ball back too quickly to hope for anything. Only bright spot for the visitors: the opposition’s imprecision in the lineout, which allowed them to catch their breath on a few short sequences. While Nissa Rugby managed to look dangerous on a counter-attack stopped dead by a knock-on from Taylor Morgan, the match had fallen into a false rhythm. Just when we thought the score would stay locked until halftime, Jope Naseara came to finish off a similar action to the second try conceded. At halftime, Dax led fairly 24-0 and had the bonus point in the bag.

Good reaction in the second half

On the restart, Nissa Rugby came back with better intentions. More incisive on attack, the Maralpins moved the ball well to establish themselves in Dax’s half. The home team seemed less sharp, almost complacent, when Louis Couget dropped a loose ball, with no opposing pressure. On the play, Flavio Asquini distributed well toward Arthur Vignolles, who came into the attack line to feed his scrum-half Théo Idjellidaine on the finish. Despite a missed conversion, Nissa Rugby finally opened their account to challenge the opposition’s bonus point.

Very undisciplined, the Landais were under pressure in a match they had well in hand. And on another attacking phase, the Nice players shook the home team once again by scoring another try on fine forward work, finished with a chip kick from Flavio Asquini for Clément Egiziano, who received it alone on the wing. Nissa Rugby came back to just 24-10 after another missed conversion. Enough to nurture regrets for the Nice players who had the potential to get a result.

In the last twenty minutes, Dax managed to score from a ball coming out of the scrum by Jekope Sovau. A converted try to which Taylor Morgan, very active tonight, responded a few minutes later to maintain the gap at +14.

The match opened up when the home team managed to score a fifth try, benefiting from their numerical superiority. Dax thus confirmed their status as the second best attack in Pro D2 by scoring one last time to regain the bonus point under the disappointed look of president Jean-Baptiste Aldigé. Final score, (45-17) in favor of the Dax team who climbed to 6th place in the standings while Nissa Rugby (14th) finished the match at 13 after a yellow card given to Arthur Vignolles.

Now it’s time for some well-deserved rest for the players, who will return to their Marcel Volot stadium in two weeks for the reception of USO Nevers on Friday, October 9 at 7:30 PM. A team also struggling at the start of the championship.