This Sunday (3 p.m.), the Nice team will host Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël for a mini-derby. With three games to go (Nice has one game in hand), a bonus-point victory for Stade Niçois would bring them closer to the finals. However, be warned, the Var club enjoys shaking up the “big teams.”
All matches are important, but the end-of-season games take on a different tone, especially when talking about qualifying for the finals (the top four). Stade Niçois has only four matches left to secure their early-season objective: a spot in the Top 4 to aim for promotion to Fédérale 1.
Confidence is high on the Nice side following a stroll against Beaurepaire (66-26 win) and an “extremely important” win in Aubagne (19-10) in daunting conditions (mud and wind). Thanks to these victories, Stade Niçois is firmly in the running, currently tied in fourth place with Chateaurenard but just one point behind Bedarrides, who are in third. Even better, with a win in the rescheduled match in Monteux (on March 8th), Gilbert Doucet’s men could catch up with the leading duo, Grasse-Vienne, a clash in Pool 3 this weekend. For this “mini-derby,” Stade Niçois will benefit from the return of Romain Catoni (starting on the bench), who has been injured for a few weeks, and Guillaume Cazanave in the center. However, Karim Dhabi will not be available.
Opposing them, the Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël team could be a trap. Indeed, the Var team is fighting to avoid relegation to Fédérale 3 (8th with a one-point lead over Aubagne), and every match is a “final.” Proof of this is last week, when CARF beat Beaurepaire and had respectable defeats at Grasse (9-20) and against Bedarrides (10-19).
The first-leg match, played in late December, was quickly wrapped up (36-3 win). But this seventh round of the return phase will be a different story with two teams motivated by their current standings. For the Nice team, victory is imperative, and every bonus point gained will be another step toward a better position in the rankings.
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