Nice Rugby is reborn. The eagle has transformed into a Phoenix. Mercenaries, individualists, pretentious, too wealthy, not “rugby” enough: the critiques voiced by detractors of RNCA were sharply answered last Sunday at Arboras. Under rainy weather and on a muddy field, and especially against Romans, the leaders of the league, trailing by fourteen points with twenty minutes left, the rugby players from Nice silenced the criticisms heard here and there. With knees on the ground or hands on hips to recover after each play: the thirty players gave their all. The match was intensely rare at this level. Both teams are to be congratulated for this great spectacle.
The 2000 spectators, who became supporters during an improbable comeback, trembled when the Romans’ fly-half Guilhot had the winning kick at the 86th minute. He failed. The referee blew the whistle. An overturning scenario. An atmosphere worthy of the final phases. Smiles of hope on all faces. The same sparks of pride and joy mixed in the eyes of players, officials, and supporters. This is called symbiosis, chemistry. In simpler words: “it’s beautiful when a rugby club wins!” Especially in Nice, a city starved for rugby emotions for too many years.
The team is young and was shuffled at the end of last season. The summer and winter recruits have an impeccable mindset. Whether one is South African and has been at the club for only a few weeks or a native of Nice trained “at home,” the victory against Romans was experienced in the same way. The players excelled and transcended. They communed among themselves and with the public. The supporters support, the directors direct, the coach coaches, and the players play. That’s the priority. Last Sunday, Olivier Achaintre, the coach from Nice, wanted gameplay. With daring and ambition, the players delivered across all corners of the field for 80 minutes despite the stakes. A defeat would have diminished the chances of promotion to Federal 1, a precursor to professional rugby. They showed that they had a complete and enjoyable playstyle.
Two weeks earlier, in Grasse, they had played without taking risks, focusing on courageously resisting the power of the Grasse forwards. Against Romans, RNCA dared. At one point, due to Rudi Dames’ penalty, it seemed paradoxical that they might be criticized for playing too much. A poor kickoff had cost three points at the end of the first half, and an attack started from their own 22 meters was penalized with an interception and a try.
Today, the club wins on all levels: on the sports field by being first in the pool, in gameplay and, relatedly, by offering spectacle and garnering the spectators’ approval, in sports development around Julien Schramm, Philippe Buchet, and Christian Baldacchino, in marketing thanks to Paul-Henri Safayan. With professionalism and authenticity, inspired by the methods that helped Max Guazzini elevate Stade Français to the elite of the Oval, Nice rugby will rise to the challenge. All signs are green. Let’s hope for Nice rugby that they stay that way until the last match. It is crucial to outperform Romans to reach the higher tier. All upcoming matches will be decisive. And the supporters, as on Sunday, can transcend the Nice XV. The difference may very well be there.
RNCA needs the people of Nice as the sixteenth man.
