Today, the mission seems a tad more complicated for a team from Nice, which must approach the last five matches of its group with only one goal, victory. Indeed, Romans has taken the lead in the standings with a fine victory against Bastia (22-11) but Sorgues, Grasse, and these same Bastia players have not yet had their final say for direct promotion to Fédérale 1. Five teams are within 5 points, and everything is still possible in a pool 4 that has lived up to all its promises.
Nice Premium met with Julien Schramm, one of the directors of RNCA, to gauge the mood of a Nice XV just hours before a tough match against one of the relegation-threatened teams in their group, Monteux.
Nice Premium: What motivated this decision?
Julien Schramm: The feeling that the team was not performing at the level it should. A team of great quality, among whom many players deserve to play at a higher level. But perhaps too focused on gameplay and technical-tactical aspects when Fédérale 2 is a real trap for players used to more refined rugby, where the emotional dimension is predominant.
NP: Who will replace him in training and in matches?
JS: It was out of the question for me to appoint a new coach. If Olivier was sacrificed, it was to force the team to take control, to take responsibility in face of the upcoming challenges: promotion to Fédérale 1.
We have five matches to achieve this, and three or four more if we have to go through the final phase. I want actors, not followers. Marc Pujolle, who has been looking after the forwards for two weeks, is confirmed to lead the specific sessions on conquest, and our fly-half Rudi Dames will animate the three-quarters sessions. He’s a great player, a great guy, highly respected and especially a coach at heart.
But above all, everyone is being made responsible for the operations and strategy, in agreement with myself and Philippe Buchet. I hold this very dear and that’s why I nipped in the bud any chance of replacing Olivier.
NP: How did the players take the departure of their coach?
JS: It was a difficult moment for everyone. Because Olivier did a good job in a tough context. Some are close to him and I can understand their distress. But it’s also a way to grow, to force oneself to take charge. They quickly got back to work. They are young, they get along well, they have great qualities, and they all want to succeed.
Now they have the chance to prove that they can quickly gain the maturity they still lack.
NP: Was the defeat last Sunday at Châteauneuf-Orange the trigger for this decision?
JS: It especially highlighted our shortcomings on the mental side. We played poorly at all levels. We failed in attitude, resulting in: deficient conquest and a form of passivity in combat. Unacceptable for a team with known ambitions. We could not leave it at that.
NP: Just a few matches left before the end of this first phase. Is confidence still present in the club?
JS: Of course. The RNCA is an ambitious club, and not just its first team. If we decided to part ways with Olivier, it was indeed to trigger something, to not suffer events and find out too late that something should have been done. I took my responsibilities, not gladly because frankly, I appreciated my collaboration with Olivier. But I am here to move this club forward. And to succeed. I have only one idea in mind today: Fédérale 1. The construction of this club. If I joined this project, it is for one thing: to see Nice at the top. It will take time. But everything I undertake here is in this direction.
NP: This Sunday, a struggling Monteux comes to Arboras. A few words about this match?
JS: A trap game. I remember that we won the away match there in the last moments. It’s a revealer for us. The team must prove that it has digested Olivier’s departure and strike a big blow. We need a nice victory with determined and ambitious players.
NP: Monteux, Vendres, Draguignan, Sorgues, and Bastia. Who do you fear the most in your last five matches?
JS: I see only complicated matches like all those we have played.
Of course, those two trips to Vendres and Bastia will certainly be decisive. But let’s just focus on doing a good match against Monteux and then we will have two weeks to prepare for the trip to Vendres. We will need it because in the new configuration that we have forced on the group, the players will need time to work together.
