The people of Nice confirm their good form by defeating Tarbes at the Trélut stadium after a complicated and more balanced match than the score might suggest.
It was an important victory that counteracts the home defeat to Valence during the first day of the championship and boosts the ambitions of the Niçois.
The Tarbes team got bogged down for a long time in the Nice defense. So much so that at halftime, even though the conditions seemed to indicate an open game, the score was only six apiece, without a single try recorded, despite some beautiful but fruitless sequences of possession on both sides.
At the start of the second half, the Nice team came out strong. Stanaway irregularly halted a scoring opportunity in his 22 meters. A yellow card was immediately exploited by the pragmatic Niçois, who scored on a maul.
The gap even widened to ten points following a penalty by the Pumas’ Ormaechea, resulting from a scrum foul, a sector where the Bigourdans initially seemed to be gaining the upper hand on the visitors (6-16).
With their backs against the wall, the Bigourdans responded but continuously faltered near the Nice try line. Meeting the physical challenge from Tarbes, the clinical Niçois even extended their lead twenty minutes before the end (+13).
The score remained unchanged, sealing the victory for Nice.
