As we reported in our article yesterday, the situation of Rugby Nice Côte d’Azur is far from brilliant, and concern is growing every week with the unpredictable bounces of the oval ball that is the beauty of this sport.
Sure, sooner or later we will have to find those responsible for this slow descent into hell, but isn’t the important thing today to focus on building the future? This is in anticipation of the meeting of the Board of Directors on Thursday, which, according to some, could declare the club insolvent with all the consequences that come with it…
But where are the financial contributions from the so-called investors who made a sacred union with a few local stars seeking power for a project aimed at promotion to Pro D2 in three years and Top 14 in the following three years?
The fact is, long gone are the days of Soviet-style “gosplans”, but could it be possible that the strategist who cleverly devised all this behind the curtain (thankfully not an iron one!) managed to commit the City Hall to support and validate a project which, though well-intentioned, lacked the “nervus rerum,” that is, the ability to ensure that the dazzling budgets could be followed by concrete actions instead of fine words and promises.
General withdrawals of the B team, accumulated debts, investments that are mere mirages… It’s clear the patient is in a critical condition, but for great diseases, great remedies are needed, and thus there is no room for improvisation, only for recipes that already work in other clubs as in other sports.
Marketing and Communication
Today, all structured clubs, or those that aspire to be so, cannot overlook the two strongholds that are marketing and communication. We can see this from Stade Français to Rugby Club Toulonnais, identity can take several forms whether you are a nascent club or another firmly rooted in the collective unconscious of a city or region.
At RNCA, unfortunately, neither exists for a few months now. Not that the club previously excelled in these domains, but it is clear to see after the disappearance of the website, press releases and other communication operations are non-existent to this day.
On the marketing side, it is also an interstellar void as even the partnerships with already existing structures have not been renewed.
On the sponsorship side, it is not any better since as of today, no new sponsor or patron has arrived.
In short, in these two areas, it is difficult to improvise but there are actions to be taken rather easily in order to work in close partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or even UPE06, which has recently acquired a competence focusing on sports and business. Why not also present the club and the values of rugby to the various local institutions or other employers’ organizations to clearly explain to them, by example, the final cost of their investment in the club by taking advantage of the authorized tax relief measures for the funding of a sports club?
Is it impossible to imagine partnerships with all the major Nice schools (IPAG, EDHEC, ESRA, etc.) to take advantage of the spirited Nice student youth to work on actions to promote RNCA and rugby as a sport?
There are many examples, and while they may not be short-term financial solutions, they will surely lay the foundational bases for shaping the best possible image of the club.
Field Side
Far from us the idea of giving an opinion on the purely technical aspect, even if one might wonder why have a new technical and administrative team been enrolled for a period of… 3 years, knowing the current situation of the club?
However, where the field remains untouched and unexplored is the potential collaborations with the University Nice Sophia Antipolis or the UFR Staps allowing for the implementation of Erasmus-like programs to welcome young sprouts with solid rugby experience to feed a training center that could serve as a reservoir for the future.
Studying on the Côte d’Azur could undoubtedly be a choice and charming asset for budding rugby players from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere.
Behind the Scenes
There too, one must show the same imagination as a fly-half who finds their winger through a cross-field kick as precise as it is lethal. The club must thus become a club once more by encompassing all its categories from the rugby school to the first team, including the women’s and the Ciappacan (veterans). A club, above all, is the business of everyone, and there is only a bad idea that is not proposed and therefore not debated.
And then, with the crisis and partner reluctance passing by, we need to know how to “return to basics” and show who we are before claiming what we’ll become. Thus, the creation of a true partner club, which isn’t exactly the idea of the century, seems a good way forward if we want to rally the right group of friends who want, on some Sundays, to live a rugby day all together with services aligned with their expectations.
Finally, because the crisis does not stop at companies and financial markets, we may need to think “outside the box” and envision new structures and why not in collaboration with other Nice or local clubs to create this famous union that would make us stronger. Pooling of some costs, common suppliers, or collaborative resources in areas such as accounting, secretarial, or marketing (website management, events, sponsorship, etc.)
In short, as we can see, solutions exist, and it would really be in good taste for the leaders and decision-makers in this case to ask the real questions because, beyond personal alliances and hostilities, whether in sports or politics, the future of an entire club is at stake. It’s hard to imagine that the rugby school would not be severely affected in the event of high-level liquidation.
The cottage hasn’t fallen on the dog yet, but…
