It was imagined and the “miracle” (if we can call it that) finally happened. Rugby Nice Côte d’Azur may have played its last match in Federal 1 (see box) but if it has to die tomorrow, it will be with today’s honors.
With these motivations, “hope and glory” as our English friends would say, the Nice ants made the Montauban cicada bow (it is not possible to win a match with so many missed penalties on the Montauban side): Final result for the valiant players of Jean Anturville (21-13), with a fifty-meter penalty by Adrien Malavard in the last minute, also depriving the opponents of the defensive bonus point that they strongly believed they had secured.
Moreover, how could the runner-up in this pool hope for better without mastering the final phase of their many offensive actions, often confusing speed with haste, thus giving the Azur players, less fanciful in the game but solid in the fundamentals, the opportunity to defend without too much risk while having the ammunition to launch sometimes dangerous counter-attacks.
But it is especially in the count of penalties that the Nice team built their success: 7 penalties including 5 by Pedro Leal, their metronome back from Portugal, and two from long distance by Adrien Malavard, including a monumental 60-meter one!!! Facing them, 1 converted try, two successful penalties, and a festival of errors, including that incredible miss in front of the posts at the start of the second half.
Finally, to conclude, bravo once again to the Nice players for this beautiful achievement and thanks for their spirit of self-denial and solidarity.
If the club were to sink for financial reasons, the players will always be able to say they gave their best.
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