Nîmes saves appearances and bonuses

Paul Kelly et les Nîmois prennent un point en Suisse. archive a. BETHUNE

National 2/5th day. This Sunday, in Switzerland, the RCN lost due in particular to a failed first period but still recovered the defensive bonus.

servette geneva23

nimes16

Lancy (Switzerland), Stade de Genève.

Half-time: 20-3.

Referee: Corentin Averseng.

For Geneva: 2 Tries Cleard (21st), Heinrich (32nd); 2 Gonnet Transformations; 3 Gonnet Penalties (14th), (40th), (70th).

Yellow card: Gaune (66th).

For Nîmes: 1 Roche Try (67th); 1 Roche Transformation, 3 Roche Penalties (26th, 67th, 80th).

Yellow card: Barbet (30th), Barnerias (51st).

Score evolution: 3-0; 10-0; 10-3; 17-3; 20-3; 20-10; 20-13; 23-13; 23-16.

Before kick-off, this match undoubtedly had the feel of a meeting in uncharted territory. For the first time, in any case. With a match abroad, Switzerland, in a 30,000-seat stadium in Geneva. In the first minutes, the two teams traded blows with a strong Nîmes defense that sent each Swiss attack back to school. But it was indeed the Geneva players who held the ball at the start of the match and opened the scoring in the quarter-game with the foot of their gunner and best scorer in National 2 Gonnet (3-0).

The Gardois were trailing 20-3 at half-time

Ten minutes later, Servette full-back Sposito broke the line before passing to his scrum-half Cleard who scored the try (10-0). It was through the foot of his full-back Samuel Roche that RCN finally got into the game with a penalty of more than forty metres (10-3).

But Geneva's forwards played long sessions in the centre and their penetrating groups put Nîmes at fault.

As a result, Maxime Barbet received a yellow card. Geneva took advantage of this numerical superiority to score a new try through its winger Heinrich (17-3).

A few minutes before the break, the Swiss added three points to the scoreboard (20-3). A logical score considering this first half dominated by the Servette forwards in the conquest phases and the backs with fire in their legs.

Back from the locker room, the Nîmes players returned with other intentions, but Guillaume Aguilar's men came up against a big defensive curtain. At the hour mark, the Nîmes players finally found the way to a try from their back Samuel Roche. The same one who scores a new penalty (20-13) just over ten minutes before the final whistle.

Roche, 100% of the points

But the fly-half Gonnet keeps his team at a distance with a new penalty to his credit. A final penalty from Roche allows Nîmes to still go home with a defensive bonus point. A consolation point (?). Not sure as the Swiss were masters of their subject, realistic. For the RCN Roche full-back, who scored 100% of Nîmes' points, we must remember "the team's character, its state of mind which knew how to get this defensive bonus point at the end of the match."

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