Too undisciplined, the Nice team bowed, 18 to 13, yesterday at the Grangettes Stadium in Rumilly in the round of 16. The season is over, and the promotion to F1 missed!
The return match resembled the first confrontation of the previous weekend; the Nice team was too often penalized and lacked lineout ammunition to be able to win. Yet the opponent seemed well within reach of the red and black team, who encountered a very good Rumilly defense.
The start of the match was, however, in Nice’s favor when, at kickoff, the red and black constructed the first carried ball of the match, behind which Sonetti broke through for 20 meters. Unfortunately, the effort was not concretized on the ensuing penalty.
Gradually, the Haute-Savoyards, spurred on by an ecstatic crowd, came back into the game and took advantage of numerous Azurian fouls to score two new penalties. The reaction came following a dominant Nice scrum, and it was Sorreaux who touched down the only try of the match, well served by Sonetti.
A few actions later, Benstaali and his Rumillian counterpart came to blows. The referee decided to give a yellow card to the first and a red card to the second. Rumilly thus finished the match with one player less.
However, the Nice team could not capitalize on this advantage in the second half due to recurring indiscipline but also to a formidable opposing defense.
Moreover, the lack of lineout ammunition deprived the players of being able to impose their rhythm on the match. In the final moments, the players tried to restart every ball, but the Rumillians did not break. The last penalty by Nègre gave hope as Nice came back to 15 to 13, but the opponents responded almost instantly.
With 4 tries scored against only one conceded, this double confrontation will leave many regrets for the Nice group.
However, the journey remains positive for a promoted team, which gave themselves the means to reach the final stages. It’s a pity, though, that this elimination stops the club’s ambitious journey and forces it to start anew next year in F2 for another attempt at promotion to the higher tier.
