Three more matches and Nice’s rugby players will know their fate. This trip to Domont before hosting the leader Rouen on April 6th and then traveling to Millau for the final match in Playdown Pool 1. Therefore, the only goal for Moni’s team is victory! And if the rugby gods are kind to the people of Nice, the bonus point could even be the cherry on top of a cake with the sweet flavor of Federal 1 rather than the bitter taste of Federal 2, which the people of Nice know well.
In the first leg, Nice had significantly dominated Domont (34-17) on the first day of this playdown phase and since then, the two teams have been within a few points of each other, with Nice losing in Rouen (12-16) before defeating Millau at Arboras (45-19). Two points separate Nice and Domont before this match, and the paths of the two teams are comparable, with Nice hosting Rouen and traveling to Millau, while Domont will host Millau before going to leader Rouen, who might already be in Federal 1 before this match. This proves that the match is decisive for Nice rugby, which must play two equal halves to overcome a Domont team determined to save its skin at this level.
On the sidelines of this match, the club’s bodies seem to be opening up to a certain Paul White, an English investor bringing an oblation of 200,000 euros in exchange for a majority in the flagship club of the Azurean oval. The question of whether to give up a majority of the club to a single shareholder or to build a college of small shareholders is currently debated, although the arrival of Paul White seems no longer in doubt. Sunday, it will be on the field where they must convert this initial try into Federal 1, and even if the reprieve by the French Rugby Federation is still possible, it would be unfortunate to rely on such an unpredictable decision. Thus, 15 warriors are needed on Sunday in a corner of Val d’Oise where Azurรฉan rugby will play one of its most important cards since the disappearance of the late Racing Rugby Club Nice.
The return journey could be very long for Nice’s rugby players if they were to fall in Domont, but it is especially a much longer journey that awaits them in Federal 2 in the event of a defeat this Sunday.
