This Friday, the Nice team traveled to Mont-de-Marsan hoping to come back with a victory. Mission failed, but the match could have ended differently for the players of Stade Niçois. A bitter defeat (26-22) leaves our Azur players on the floor with this 15th defeat in a row.
In a crucial match of the 22nd day of Pro D2, Nice faced Mont-de-Marsan with determination and courage. Despite a defeat of 26 to 22, the Nice team showed a fighting spirit and iron will throughout the match.
A Fighting Spirit in a Great First Half
From the start of the match, the Nice players showed that they were ready to fight for every point. With a try from Pierre Strippoli in the 3rd minute, the Nice team appeared dangerous. Unfortunately, Gimbert missed the conversion and the team stayed ahead (0-5). Five minutes later, it was Mont-de-Marsan’s turn to get back in the match with a try from Florian Dufour. Loustalot converted it and Mont-de-Marsan took the lead (7-5).
In the 17th minute, the Montois got a penalty and in front of the posts, Loustalot added three points (10-5). It took the Nice team no more than five minutes to get back into the race. Indeed, in the 22nd minute, Asquini recovered his kick on the right wing and approached the halfway line. Freytes broke through the ruck, with support from Beaufils who progressed. The ball came out to Ménoret, who kicked it past a poorly repositioned defense. Delas took advantage of the favorable bounce to score. However, Gimbert missed another kick, and the score remained at (10-10).
A festival of tries! In two minutes, Nice put pressure on the team from Landes and Nathan Courtade grounded the ball in the goal area. Gimbert kicked a high ball along the line, recovered by Sayerse. He passed to Loustalot who sent a long skip pass of around thirty meters. Courtade came out of nowhere to intercept and dashed to score between the posts! Tanguy Ménoret took the kick and made the conversion, (10-17) for Nice. On the half-hour mark, the Stade Montois players, in a beautiful collective action, scored a new try. Yoann Laousse Azpiazu grounded the ball in the Nice goal area, and Loustalot converted from the left side, bringing the two teams level (17-17) at the end of the first half.
Untapped Potential in the Second Half
Four minutes after the start of the second half, Mont-de-Marsan got a penalty. Christophe Loustalot gave his team the lead coming back from the locker room and took the lead (20-17). At the 52nd minute, our red and black team reacted. During the play, Dawai tangled with Chartier, and together they collided with referee Thomas Chereque, who ended up on the ground! The referee reflexively blew the whistle to stop the game, while the Nice team was in the goal area! Finally, the try was validated for Sione Angaaelangi! Yet another missed goal kick for Nice, by Tanguy Ménoret. The Azur players led but lost six points from kicks (20-22).
A scrum turnover at the 57th minute, Canut played quickly into the narrow side. This resulted in a penalty for Mont-de-Marsan. Laousse Azpiazu converted his penalty from the right side, putting Mont-de-Marsan back in front (23-22). And seven minutes from the end, the Montois got another penalty and secured their lead with Willie Du Plessis, who converted his penalty from 40 meters on the left side. Final score (26-22) for Mont-de-Marsan, with a lot of kicking, four tries for Stade Niçois against only two for Stade Montois Rugby. A bitter and difficult defeat to digest for the Nice team, who did not deserve this outcome.