This Sunday (3 PM), Stade Niçois travels to Rumilly for the second leg of the round of 16. After last week’s 25-25 draw, Romain Catoni’s teammates have no choice; it’s victory or vacation, and the dream of reaching Fédérale 1 slips away.
The regrets of last Sunday must be forgotten. It’s time to focus on certainties and exploit the weaknesses of Rumilly as best as possible. Indeed, Stade Niçois could (should?) have left with an offensive bonus point in addition to the victory. But that was not considering the efficiency of the Rumilly players, who scored with every incursion into the Niçois camp.
With their backs against the wall against Vienne two weeks ago, the Niçois showed a remarkably competitive attitude and secured qualification for these round of 16 matches. After last Sunday’s draw, winger Maël Parcheminer spoke of a “relaxation” or even a “lack of desire”. This Sunday in Haute-Savoie, Gilbert Doucet’s men will have to give their all for 80 minutes to win because any other result will eliminate them. They can notably rely on a powerful forward pack that troubled Rumilly’s defense with two collective tries. With the return of El Ouertani and Dahbi in the starting fifteen, there will be weight and strength. The same goes for the wings, where the red and black backs lacked effectiveness.
“We’ll have to exploit every detail. We didn’t play accurately enough; we have the means to succeed, we have a card to play. We need to push them to make mistakes,” explained winger Maël Parcheminer immediately after.
As for Rumilly, they’ll be at home with the same obligation to win, but with a slightly freer spirit. A draw away provides strength and optimism. They can rely on a devilishly effective kicking game with winger Oulouma, capable of scoring beyond 50m, and fly-half Perrod. Qualification will also depend on discipline. In the first leg, both teams were penalized ten times.
“We’re starting from scratch on both sides. We need to turn things around because we’re in an unfavorable position. We’re going to find solutions to pose them problems,” said Gilbert Doucet after the first leg.
To potentially meet Grasse in the round of 16 next week, the Niçois will need to deliver a complete match, even an exploit, because Rumilly at home has only been held to account once this season, a 20-20 draw against Beaune, fourth in the Alps group. The 22 players lined up by Gilbert Doucet have been warned.
Other Stade Niçois matches
Reserve: Stade Niçois’s reserve team will attempt to replicate last year’s journey (the team reached the final). To do so, the Niçois will start by facing Villeurbanne at Stade Saint Exupéry de Bagnols.
Balandrade: The juniors, territorial champions, will be eager to showcase their full capabilities on the national stage now. To do this, the Niçois will play Chambéry in the round of 16 of the French Championship. The match will be played as the curtain-raiser for the reserve’s game in Bagnols.
Phliponeau: The players from Entente Est 06 will face the Languedocian Entente, Vendres-Lespignan in Gardanne.
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