Vice-champion of France in 1983, the Racing rugby club of Nice, which became Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur then Stade niçois rugby, is gradually reborn from its ashes.
After having evolved in Federal 3 from 2012 and quickly found colors until joining the National in 2020, the club of the fifth city of France, which welcomes this weekend the semi-finals of the Top 14, even hopes to be able to find soon the elite.
Its president, Régis Brandinelli, talks about the future with
20
Minutes
.
Nice, capital of French rugby for the weekend.
The city hosts the two semi-finals of the Top 14 this Friday and Saturday on the lawn of the Allianz Riviera.
Enough to rekindle the flame that has been reborn for a few years in the hearts of the Riviera supporters of the oval.
And in that of his local team.
Vice-champion of France in 1983, the Racing rugby club of Nice, which became Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur and today Stade niçois rugby, is gradually rising from its ashes.
After having evolved in Federal 3 from 2012 and quickly found colors until joining the National in 2020, the club of the fifth city of France even hopes to be able to find the elite soon.
Its president, Régis Brandinelli, talks about the future with
20
Minutes
.
After a slump, we feel, for several years, the return of a certain enthusiasm for rugby in Nice...
This sport has always been important there.
But things have come to a standstill since the 2000s, quite simply because we haven't properly taken the turn towards professionalization.
We are getting back to it.
Today, yes, there is a real craze.
We are lucky to have a municipality and communities that follow us and help us a lot.
Quite a few entrepreneurs from Nice as well.
Little by little, we are putting this sport back in its place.
In particular with the Stade niçois which goes back to a more coherent level and which should be even more so in the years to come.
I have always been at the club and I have been one of its leaders for seven years.
It has nothing to do with everything I knew at the time, when we were in Federal 3. Apart from the enthusiasts, the fans, no one came to see rugby.
Today,
it's not like that anymore.
Then, we can see that we are once again becoming a city that counts between our partnership with the Stade Français, the Scottish federation, the French team which has come several times and which is still there this week, the semi-finals of the Top 14, the World Cup… There is a real dynamic.
And by domino effect, the other clubs in the region also benefit.
The professionalization you mentioned has taken a serious boost.
A big effort has also been made on the equipment… What is still missing?
Quite simply that we go up to Pro D2 or better.
The fact that Nice, fifth city in France, is not in the second division or even in the Top 14, is not normal.
And that's what we need.
That the club return to a level that is attractive to spectators and to create an even stronger enthusiasm.
The club has just restructured its staff.
Does it go in that direction?
The arrival of Arnaud Vercruysse and Alexandre Compan as coaches will bring us new life.
It is a duo experienced in supporting players from the amateur world to the professional world.
Exactly what we are looking for.
They have been head coaches at clubs that have had great rises.
And they have a double characteristic that I find interesting, which is that they are very good technically and they are real team managers.
In addition to Steffon Armitage, back in Nice "where he has all [his] childhood memories", the club has also invested in other recruits...
Yes, but the team already having a very well-staffed workforce, which must be able to play the climb, we made the choice not to change many people.
We want to build little by little and not turn everything upside down all the time.
We have six arrivals.
In particular that of scrum half Matthieu Lorré, who played at Racing 92 and who has quite a lot of experience at the very highest level.
He himself participated in several climbs.
There is also a second line, a very fast and very powerful center, a hooker, a back and a jumping third line.
My deep conviction is that we need complementary profiles.
I don't believe in big names.
The players must want to give themselves together.
Rugby is a combat sport that is played in groups.
With all that, if you had to take the bet, Nice in the Top 14, when is it?
My deep conviction is that it will be easier for the club to play in Pro D2 than in National.
The day we pass this stage, the economic fabric, the spectators, everyone will want to come to the stadium regularly and it's the whole department that will push so that we can still go up.
So, reasonably, I think that if we are lucky enough to move to Pro D2 next season, we will play for the top of the basket to be able to be in the final stages in 5 or 6 years.
At the Allianz Riviera?
Yes, or in another stadium.
In the majority of large cities, there are always two stadiums: one with 35,000 seats, where we can accommodate very large posters like those of this weekend, and another with 10,000 or 12,000 seats which can be full every weekend. -ends.
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