It was the match for promotion. If they won this semi-final, the women from Nice would have performed the miracle of climbing another rung in their remarkable 2011-2012 campaign.
But the players of Lydie and Lolie (the camaraderie in this team is such that names don’t matter, they are known by their first names or even better by nicknames) faced stronger opponents, and now they’ll head to the beach while awaiting the season’s restart in September!
With a disastrous start (conceding two tries that should or could have been avoided) and a first half played well below their potential with a score of 0-24, the young ladies had only their pride left to play for.
Well, the match changed tone and, taking advantage of a lapse from the Tarbes players, the women from Nice bombarded the opponent’s defense for extended periods without, unfortunately for them, managing to score any points.
It was actually the players from Tarbes who scored a try to finish with an uncompromising 31-0 score.
It’s a pity for Nice, who could certainly have done better, but ultimately, it must be acknowledged that the Tarbes players were stronger, and so, without regret, the curtain falls on an overall very positive and especially encouraging season for the future.
