After last week’s disappointment on the field of US Bressane, the players of Nissa Rugby hosted Olympique Marcquois. It was a tough match for the Niçois, who were anxious in the final minutes.
There are difficult evenings that end well. That’s what Nissa Rugby experienced tonight on its Marcel Volot field. Still undefeated at home, the Maralpins were hosting the Northerners from Olympique Marcquois. Ranked twelfth before this 10th day of the Nationale, the evening visitors travel quite poorly. They have only won one game in 2025, apart from a victory by forfeit against Hyères.
The mission seemed tough, even against Maralpins who were in worse form than at the start of the season. This was evidenced by two away defeats suffered in October, against Rouen first and then last weekend at Bourg-en-Bresse.
The time had come for a rebound for Nissa Rugby, who began the match timidly. Little play, offensive errors, Gareth Baber’s men stammer their rugby. Opposite, Olympique Marcquois is focused, but also fails to make a difference. It takes until the 29th minute of play for Nice to take the lead on the scoreboard thanks to Owen Williams’ feet (6-0). The match flows and Nice manages to find a breach through Hugo Sarrasin. The flanker touches down and allows the home kicker to add two more points (13-0). Without shining, Nice goes back to the locker room with XV against XIV, with an interesting advantage but without giving the impression of being superior.
A slump that could have cost dear
The start of the second half smiles on the locals. The Northerners are punished with a second yellow card, leaving clear paths for the Niçois to increase the score. Clément Egiziano does not miss the opportunity and scores the second try for the Azuréens. After another conversion from Owen Williams, Nissa Rugby leads (20-0) and seems poised to win the match easily.
Except that things are not going to unfold as planned. After the first yellow card returns, Olympique Marcquois manages to reduce the score by scoring a try through Otilo Kafotamaki, who just came into play. The Niçois staff decides to inject fresh blood, which pays off. During a strong moment, the Niçois score twice in five minutes: Sailasa Powell excels first, followed by Clément Egiziano who scores a double. Two unconverted tries that still allow Nice to widen the gap on the scoreboard (30-7), a little over twenty minutes from the end.
Nissa Rugby rotates and plays its game. The Northerners pay dearly for their indiscipline and receive a third yellow card. We think the deal is done… but, stung to the quick, the visitors react and make the Niçois tremble in five minutes. They first reduce the score in the 67th minute thanks to Séraphin Bordoli, who entered the game a few minutes earlier. The fly-half does it again eight minutes from the end to bring his teammates within nine points of the locals through the captain of OLM, Dany Antunes’ conversions (30-21).
Fortunately for Nice, the score will remain there, depriving the valiant Marcquois of the defensive bonus point.
In the standings, Nissa Rugby regains first place on goal difference after Narbonne’s narrow defeat in Rennes. By chance of the calendar, the top two in the standings will meet next weekend for the 11th day. Nissa Rugby will travel to Narbonne with the objective of ending its current away series. Kick-off for the match is Saturday, November 15, at 7 p.m.
