“The goal is clearly promotion.” Olivier Achaintre, the new coach of Rugby Nice Nice Côte d’Azur, two days before the first match in Martigues in the Fédérale 2 championship, states his ambition but quickly tempers it: “If we don’t achieve it and we make progress, we will get there next season. It’s just a matter of time. We must remain humble. Promotion can be decided by a single point. Last year, Romans on Isère (Editor’s note: in the same group as Nice) could not access Fédérale 1 simply because of a yellow card.”
The season will be long and the opponents formidable. To prepare, Nice has recruited. A dense squad of about thirty players will be the strength of the Azuréens. Since the first training session, Olivier Achaintre has been emphasizing team spirit to the Nice rugby players: “With this squad, we can change the fifteen from one match to another. Some teams have limited players. They have fifteen or sixteen players, and if one or two get injured, the team no longer functions. With thirty players of the same level, you must have the right approach. We need to reassure the players who aren’t selected or are on the bench. They will need to work even harder for the next match. I was delighted when I announced the group to face Martigues to see the ‘not selected’ applaud those who would defend Nice’s colors in the Bouches-du-Rhône.”
Olivier Achaintre hopes to play on the element of surprise with new recruits and a new coach: “Teams don’t really know us. We won’t be considered the scarecrows of the group.” The clubs to fear are Grasse, the neighboring Azuréen team that has been relegated from Fédérale 1, Romans, who narrowly missed promotion, and Vendres Sauvian Lespignan, which earned promotion on the field but preferred to stay in Fédérale 2. “We have no complexes. Neither inferiority nor superiority. But we will be expected because we are Nice and we have an ambitious project,” explains President Christian Baldacchino.
Promoted to Fédérale 2 last year, Rugby Nice Côte d’Azur Université Club hopes to gradually rise up the ranks to reach the rugby heights once again. “We want to make Nice the locomotive of Rugby in the region within three or four years,” announces Julien Schramm, the sports director. The leaders can boast, with its 540 registered members, of being one of the largest clubs in France. The shareholders of OGC Nice have become the principal financial partner of the club and will allow Christian Baldacchino’s club to continue developing. Beyond results, the ultimate pride would be to fill the Arboras stadium every Sunday. The club has partnered with Carrefour Lingostière. For each Nice home game, 1000 tickets will be distributed for free at the Carrefour Lingostière ticket office. The RNCAUR also has the support of Société Générale. And to conclude the list of new features for the 2006-2007 season: a website will be launched in fifteen days.
The people of Nice can be sure: the rugby club in Nice has all it takes to return to the French elite. The leaders have a solid project based on solid ground with a short, medium, and long-term vision, step by step. Sportingly, everything has started perfectly with a 37 to 0 victory in Martigues on Sunday. The Nice Fifteen is therefore expecting a crowd next Sunday at the Arboras for the reception of Bédarieux.
