This Saturday, the Nice team traveled to the field of the leader as part of the fourth day of the championship in Narbonne, undefeated since the beginning of the season. Quickly reduced to fourteen, Stade Niçois was defeated by two points (12-10)
Stade Niçois was seeking a third consecutive victory in the championship. After their first win on the Vienne field, the red and blacks continued on the Tarbes field last weekend (3-38). The Nice team will play their fourth consecutive away match against Racing Club Narbonnais at the Parc des Sports et de l’Amitié.
For this match, five changes were made in the starting fifteen. Thibaud Rey returns in the second row, Bastien Berenguel and Martin Freytes start in the back row. Finally, Baptiste Lafond and Hugo Martin make their appearance in the backline.
Stade Niçois quickly reduced to fourteen
The match started poorly for Stade Niçois. After only a few minutes, Narbonne scored the first try through their hooker Christophe David (5-0). The conversion did not go through. A penalty by Romain Riguet allowed Nice to get on the board in the 10th minute (5-3). The start of the match remained tight between the two teams. Baptiste Lafond received a red card in the 15th minute due to a high and dangerous tackle. The Maralpins found themselves in difficulty with fourteen players for the rest of the match. However, the defensive unit of Stade Niçois did not yield to the opposing attacks.
With numerical superiority, Racing Club Narbonnais monopolized possession and stringed together phases of play. Logically, the Stade Niçois players ended up conceding on a new breakthrough concluded by center Pierre Nueno in the 31st minute. The try was converted (12-3). The score remained unchanged at halftime. Quickly reduced to fourteen, Stade Niçois was logically trailing at the break against Narbonne.
Sturdy defense from Nice in the second half
The men of Alexandre Compan and Mariano Taverna multiplied defensive tackles at the beginning of the second half. Narbonne continued playing phases with the ball in hand. However, the Narbonne players rushed too much in attack to score additional points. The pace was disrupted by numerous fouls and scrums on both sides. Nice was deprived of balls, forced to defend in their territory.
But they resisted the numerous phases of play from Narbonne. In one of their rare offensives, Adrien Vigne scored the first try for Nice in the 72nd minute on a maul. Romain Riguet converted the try (12-10). Stade Niçois came back into the match. The fly-half even had the match ball on a final penalty from 40 meters. But his attempt went wide to the right of the posts.
The red and blacks were defeated by two points against Narbonne (12-10). The Nice team faltered after two consecutive victories. Despite being outnumbered for almost an hour of play, Stade Niçois remained solid in defense. Nice leaves with the defensive bonus point.
Next match in two weeks, on September 30 at the Hyères Carqueiranne La Crau field.
