Thus temporarily ruling out a direct competitor in the race for the finals qualification, with two games remaining in this first part of the Championship, RNCA is now in third place in the standings, one point behind Montauban. Discover the summary of this day.
The match on Sunday, March 13, 2011, although played in the rain and on a hardly playable field, offered a quality display between two focused and highly skilled teams.
In the first half, Nice imposed a strict discipline, relying on a dominant pack, high-quality lineouts, and solid kicking by Mark Mc Hugh and Adrien Malavard. Tactically, Manu Boutet’s players were in control of the first part of the match. Impressive up front and impeccable in defense, David Penalva and his teammates in the scrum were able to dictate the pace of the match and score, through four penalties by Malavard, following some strong phases.
Despite missing his first attempt, the Nice fullback delivered a flawless performance in front of the opposing posts subsequently. He managed to gradually widen the gap (3-0, 10th minute, 6-0, 23rd, 9-0, 25th, 12-0, 36th) without Blagnac entering the Azurean camp. Even though the Haut-Garonnais reduced the score before halftime (12-3, 38th), Nice went into the locker room feeling they had played a faultless first half.
The second half proved a bit more complicated. In fact, Blagnac scored the only try of the match, following the only Nice mistake of the game. The try, scored between the posts, was converted (12-10).
Nice then regained control of operations in the lineout (where Eric Espagno excelled throughout the match), in the scrum, and in all the critical regroupment areas. Staying disciplined, the pack gradually wore down a quality opponent.
The penalty scored by Malavard at that moment (15-10, 72nd) allowed Nice to win a very physical match, played in a very good spirit.
The lineup
Guarese (Canizares, 62nd), Faurois (Gaona, 68th), R. Sua Uipa (Kaikilekofe, 73rd) – Boukanoucha, Penalva (capt) (Derrstroff, 54th) – Espagno, Orméa (Dahbi, 58th), Mezencev – Delmonte (Guerre, 61st), Mc Hugh – Lapierre, Benstaali (Panizzi, 52nd), Keil, Mathet — Malavard
