This Friday, the Nice team faced the Aurillac team on the field of Marcel Volot stadium. The players did not underachieve, but ultimately fell short (18-29). A bitter score to digest after a twelfth consecutive defeat.
Indeed, Stade Niçois’s last victory dates back to October 18, 2024, against this same Aurillac team (16-25). A situation that is increasingly concerning.
At halftime, with a score of 15 to 3 in favor of the Cantal team, the match seemed almost under control. Here’s a simple summary of the first act of a game that was never really thrilling, as the visitors dominated play. However, it is worth noting that the Nice team could have taken the lead as early as the 3rd minute of the match after a move by Dufau, stopped one meter from the try line. Shortly after, the Cantal team thought they could score a first try. However, it was canceled and led to a yellow card for Oudard for a dangerous tackle. This slight twist did not disturb the Aurillac team much, who continued to make an effort, playing 14 against 15. They eventually opened their scoring thanks to Bevia (0-5, 8th minute). Auradou took advantage of a penalty to narrow the gap (3-5). But on the field, the Aurillac team’s domination was clear. It was only at the half-hour mark that Oudard made a first break, confirmed by an elegant drop from Seunes (3-15, 35th minute).
Nice Recovers in the Second Half
From the 44th minute, the Cantal players managed to temporarily secure the offensive bonus point. After a nice push, Hadinegoro sneaked between the posts. A try that slightly irritated the Azureans, pushing them to raise their performance level. Eventually, they managed to reach the try line with a small dive from Solinas after a ruck (8-22, 58th minute). As soon as they lost the offensive bonus point, the visitors recovered it thanks to Perrin, who finished a beautiful collective move with finesse (8-29, 60th minute). At this point, Aurillac slowed down the tempo, putting at risk a bonus point that could be of great value at the end of the season. Despite the three missed conversions by the Nice team, tries from Delas in the 68th minute and one on the buzzer by Erasmus allowed Nice to recover to a final score of (18-29).
This twelfth consecutive defeat puts Nice in a no-win situation. Although the Azureans can theoretically still fight to avoid relegation, there is little doubt about their descent to Nationale 1 for the next season. Once again a notch below their opponent, they nonetheless demonstrated some promising moments, particularly with a few quality offensive sequences during the second half of this match.