On the account of the 6th day of Pro D2, Stade Niçois claimed the scalp of Mont-De-Marsan at home. A narrow victory (29-27) that allows the Niçois to leave the last place in the standings.
After three consecutive defeats and last place in the standings, the Stade Niçois was eager to respond in front of their home crowd. And this time, Alexandre Compan’s men brought their A-game. Indeed, the locals quickly obtained two penalties, and Mathis Viard didn’t hesitate to score the first six points for his team.
The Montois were penalized too often by the referee and conceded a yellow card in the tenth minute of play. Nice took immediate advantage to score the first try of the match. It was achieved by the flanker, Bastien Berenguel. After 12 minutes of play, Nice was already leading (13-0).
A penalty on each side, and the teams went to the locker rooms with a score of (16-3) for Stade Niçois.
Nice gets a scare in the second half
Upon returning from the locker room, the Niçois were silent for the first 15 minutes of the second half and conceded 7 points. It wasn’t until the 60th minute that Romain Riguet scored the first Niçois points of the second half.
On their side, Mont-De-Marsan kept threatening the Niçois’ try line. The visitors were rewarded with another try and a penalty. With 10 minutes remaining, the score stood at (19-20). Stade Montois took the lead for the first time in the match.
Fortunately for the Niçois, it didn’t last long. By hammering the Montois defense on the edge of their line, the Niçois pressed their opponents into committing a fault and were awarded a penalty try. Seven points in one go to give them some breathing room. A final Montois try would tense the atmosphere in the stadium, but the red and black held strong and secured their second victory of the season with character.
With this victory (29-27), Alexandre Compan’s men are no longer at the bottom of this Pro D2. They are tied on points with the first non-relegation spot, Aurillac. They will need to confirm this victory next week against Aurillac. With a win, the Niçois could move out of the relegation zone.
