Sunday presents a clash for Stade Niçois, currently fourth, against Bedarrides, in third place. At mid-season, the goal of qualifying for the finals (top four) is more relevant than ever. The backs’ coach, Ludovic Chambriard, reflects on the first part of the season and the important fixtures ahead.
Objective: Top 4
“For now, we’re on track. However, we realize that everyone is winning against weaker teams like Monteux, Aubagne, and Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël. We’ve already hosted them, so we’ll need to win at their places. Many teams are still capable of qualifying (8 points separate the 1st from the 6th) whereas in previous years, the gap was significant between the top four and the others. It’s going to be tight until the end of the season.”
Second half of the season
“To reach our qualification goal, we need to confirm our first half of the season even if we narrowly lost to Bedarrides (17-16) and Saint-Savin (15-12). We’ve always earned defensive bonuses (losing by less than 7 points), which will be an advantage going forward. We will need to win away games. The goal is at least two victories because we are traveling to Aubagne and Monteux, where everyone else has won. We need to challenge another team, particularly Chateaurenard, who are 6th, just one point behind Nice.”
What worked in the first part of the season
“We had 15 recruits, and the integration went well. We are satisfied with the recruitment. The group’s mindset is good, which is essential for effective work.”
What Stade Niçois is lacking
“We are still a bit young. Some players need to quickly gain experience so that in important matches, we can assert ourselves more in terms of the contest. We are a little bit soft.”
Challenging schedule for the restart
“The upcoming four games are going to be important. We host Bedarrides, a direct competitor, and then travel to Grasse the following week. We need to make a strong impression. The schedule is busy to start the year with matches against the 3rd place team and the leader, but it’s good to dive right into the action. Hosting Bedarrides, who plays a combative style of rugby, will get us immediately into the thick of things.”
The squad
“We had to wait until the end of the first half of the season to have a full squad. We’ve been affected by numerous injuries. Fortunately, we have a deep roster. Through these injuries, we discovered players who have impressed us with their play and versatility. It’s important moving forward to have players who can cover multiple positions. We have a fairly large group.”
Satisfactions and returnees
“There are promising young players like Echabe in the scrum-half position, Karp on the wing, and Cazanave who has filled in at fly-half. For this second part of the season, we welcome back Antoine Derrstroff, who has been injured since the start of the season. He played in Pro D2 with Montauban, and he was trained here. He’s a high-level player who will bring us the experience we’ve been missing.”
Gearing up
“The squad will need to build up momentum starting with Sunday’s match and continuing through to the end of the regular season. The game plan has been absorbed. We now expect everyone to perform at the highest level. We are on the path to the Top 4. We can’t really afford any mistakes. The staff is optimistic for this second part of the season.”
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