Sophie Mallau, coach of Stade Niçois, reflects on her team’s unexpected promotion to Fédérale 1. The former player reacts to the announcement of this decision, a new step in the development of women’s rugby in Nice.
Last season ended cruelly for the Stade Niçois women’s players. Competing in the final stages for promotion to Fédérale 1, the Niçoises lost by just one point in the quarter-final against Nevers (25-26). However, following another team’s withdrawal, Stade Niçois will play in Fédérale 1, as explained by their coach, Sophie Mallau.
The female team is reinstated in Fédérale 1, what is your feeling about this decision? How did you find out?
I was contacted by someone from the federation (French Rugby Federation), just before the general assembly at the federation. This decision needed to be validated during this assembly. It was at the end of June. They explained that a Fédérale 1 team had withdrawn, and we were the first team to be contacted in such a case. That’s because in last year’s quarter-finals, during the promotion matches, we were the team that scored the most points. They started with us, and if we had said no, they would have contacted another team.
Did you expect this decision?
It was a possibility we considered right after the defeat in the quarter-final. We lost on the last action of the match, in the last second. We were leading 25-12 at the 70th and ended up losing 25-26. This match generated some frustration. We told ourselves that it’s still an interesting level and that we have this desire to continue at the higher tier. The club was aware of this possibility of being reinstated. We discussed it with the girls and said that we would consider it if it was offered to us. It was proposed to us, and we said yes. The decision was quickly made.
Is there not a small disappointment in not achieving this promotion on the field?
This eases the disappointment of our defeat. In that quarter, if we had taken 30 points, if we hadn’t existed, we would have clearly said Fédérale 1 was not for us. But we played a big match against a good team on the other side. We proved to ourselves that we have the level to play in Fédérale. Of course, achieving promotion on the field or on the green table is not the same, but the outcome remains the same.
“Our objectives are very simple: we have nothing to lose”
Sophie Mallau, coach of the Stade Niçois women
It has been ten years since the Stade Niçois women reached this level in the championship. Can we predict the pride for all the players, the staff, and the club?
It’s a reward for the work accomplished. It’s also a desire from the president to support us, to develop rugby, and sportingly, it is more interesting. In Nice, we can build a very interesting women’s hub. It’s an important step.
What will be the objectives set for the team next year in Fédérale 1?
Our objectives are very simple: we have nothing to lose. We have everything to discover, the goal is to make our presence felt as best as possible in this league. They have revised the qualification procedures for the final stages, the top four in a group of eight are qualified. The goal is to aim for qualification for the final stages. We want to do our best in all the matches.
What is the overall level of this Fédérale 1?
We are in a very interesting group sportingly. Narbonne is coming down from Division 2, Grane was the French champion of Fédérale 2 two years ago, and Gaillac has been in Fédérale 1 for a while now. We will have some great matchups in this group.
Has this reinstatement had an impact on the pre-season preparation or on other areas of the club such as recruitment?
On the preparation itself, yes and no. We had already planned our pre-season preparation. We knew from June which teams would be in our group, we had our calendar. The matches are well balanced, with two matches per month on average. In Fédérale 2, we knew only by mid-September who we would play against, with the complete calendar by the end of September. It is more complicated to organize. Here at least, everything is sorted right from the start.
When the girls contact me, they tell me they saw us last year, that we had a great season, that we are in Fédérale 1 now. It certainly attracts more.
