Falling into Narbonne’s trap, the Stade Niçois unfortunately succumbed to the Aude team. The Azurean club will therefore not compete in the Pro D2 next season.
First in the regular phase, Stade Niçois hosted Narbonne at the Stade des Arboras. The stakes were simple. The winner simply secured their ticket to ascend to Pro D2. A difficult match on paper, especially since the Narbonne team had won in Nice on April 24th, (24-19). A match marked by the cervical injury of the Azurean second row, James Lasis.
Narbonne started the match well, but the first try opportunity was in favor of the Niçois. Center Parataiso Silafai-Lea’ana broke through the Aude defense. The releases were quick, and the visitors committed a fault. However, on the following line-out, the Azureans were penalized. The start of the match was very balanced. Neither team managed to take the upper hand on their opponent.
It took until a quarter of an hour into the game to see the first points of this encounter. The Niçois fly-half, Matthew James, scored a penalty from 22 meters off the left side (3-0, 17th minute). The home team was gradually asserting its dominance over the Narbonne team. Right prop Jeronimo Negrotto was the victim of a high tackle. From 40 meters in front of the posts, James did not flinch (6-0, 21st minute).
The Narbonne team did not hesitate to play assertively. Nice was penalized for offside, and Raynor Parkinson closed the gap from 15 meters in front of the posts (6-3, 27th minute). The two teams exchanged blows. From 45 meters in front of the posts, James experienced his first miss. This was not the case for Parkinson, who capitalized on one of his team’s strong moments (6-6, 40th minute). At halftime, the two teams were tied.
A Second Half Just as Tight
Nice started the second half at a fast pace. But Matthew James had another miss, from 35 meters on the left side. Nevertheless, the Niçois continued to press. Silafai-Lea’ana was stopped just centimeters from the try line. Narbonne’s third row Valentin Sese committed a blatant foul. He received a yellow card. James took advantage to give the home team the lead (9-6, 50th minute).
Once again, Narbonne responded. After several phases of play, Niçois second row Yann Tivoli received a yellow card for a tackle without the ball. From 20 meters in front of the posts, Parkinson equalized (9-9, 54th minute). Tension was felt on the field. Niçois third row Nicolas Tachat received a yellow card, as did his counterpart Flavien Nouhaillaguet.
But Nice would doom themselves just a few minutes before the end of the match. The ball was lost in a line-out by the Azureans. Narbonne advanced with their rolling maul and earned a penalty. From 35 meters on the left side, substitute Boris Goutard secured the victory for Narbonne (9-12, 78th minute). A cruel outcome for the Azureans, who were dominant for much of the match. Next season, the Niçois will once again compete in the Nationale.
