Don’t be fooled by the two clouds drawn on the forearms of Alexandre Compan, the new Stade Nice rear coach has his feet on the ground. And a smile on your face. “I had several meetings late, suddenly I had to spin the wheel of pledges and I fell on the box “temporary tattoos”. I let my daughters express their creativity” The result is successful. And his friend Arnaud Vercruysse, new coach of the Nice forwards, should not escape this wheel of wages. “He is not friends with watches!laughs Alexandre Compan.Arnaud is often late, so he’s starting to have a few crosses on the board.” Smile and lightness off the pitchto weld a group discovered by the two new coaches.
– Maxime Bacquie
“Alexandre will be one of the great French rugby technicians in the coming years.”
After the new failure last season in the playoffs of accession to the Pro D2, the club decided to turn the page on David Bolgashvili, in office since 2016. And to entrust the first team to this duo of coaches. The experienced Arnaud Vercruysse, 52, arrives from Rodez to take charge of the forwards. Whereas the young wolf Alexandre Compan, 43 years old, trained Suresnes last season in National and will therefore be in charge of the backs. A duo who met and competed on amateur grounds in previous seasons, before sending a joint application this summer to Nice. “We felt a connection between us and we thought we wanted to live a human adventure. And the context of Nice is perfect for that because there is a great sports project,” explains Compan. “I think that Alexandre will be one of the great French rugby technicians in the coming years. He’s a hard worker with a dose of phlegm,” slips Vercruysse.
Turn the Bolgashvili page to go up to Pro D2
The two men divide the tasks in the field and set a common course of action. “We have two sentences that sum up our vision of rugby,” Compan states. “_The first is “put order in the mess“. That is to say, to allow players to have benchmarks and automatisms in attack. And the second is “attack wins games and defense wins championships“. We know that Nice is a team known for its rough defense. We hope to keep this identity._” On the sidelines, President Régis Brandinelli rewinds the summer. “In rugby, perhaps more than elsewhere, you always have to question yourself. And without throwing away the work done in recent seasons, which was really of high quality, we felt that we needed a new lease of life, a new way of seeing things. We received several CVs. Arnaud and Alexandre were the only ones to apply together and we felt an alchemy between the two.”
– Maxime Bacquie
Steffon Armitage headlining a tight transfer window
Another headliner who arrived this summer was England international Steffon Armitage (36). Back home, where it all started for the third row, notably through Toulon and Biarritz. “I return to where I started rugby and where I knew I wanted to pursue a career in this sport,” explains the one who trains with a cap. “I find this sun and this big heat,” he laughs. “But that’s it, I’m getting used to it and I feel like home. I come here to continue learning. The rules of rugby change all the time and young people push you to always question yourself. I’m always hungry. The day when this is no longer the case, I will stop, but today I want to win this National championship, it is a line that I do not have on my CV.“That’s good, that’s the president’s ambition.”I get up every morning thinking about the climb. It is not vital for our finances, but it is essential for our project. Nice must have a club at least in Pro D2. In terms of visibility it would be a change of dimension.” To succeed, the workforce has been tightened this summer with 14 departures and eight arrivals (see below) and the budget has therefore been slightly reduced.
The second grandstand is on its way
While waiting to grow on the ground, the club continues to structure itself. The construction of the second stand is validated on the Arboras site, to increase the stadium to nearly 7,000 seats. But this season, we will have to be content with this single stand with 2,800 seats. First home game on September 10 against Dax. Before that, Stade Niçois is playing its first preparation match at Hyères-Carqueiranne this Friday evening.
Departures (14): Romain Pouyleau / Richard Fourcade / Corentin Astier / Ignatio Calas / Jean Blaise Lespinasse / Jonathan Mace (retired) / Paul Champin (retired) / Rimon Ricquebourg / Dorian Lavernhe / Aurélien Labau / Ben Mosses (retired) / Pacome Gougeon / Vincent Alessi / Thibault Zambelli (retired)
Arrivals (8): Steffon Armitage / Marvin Woki / Mathis Viard / Mathieu Lorée / Alban Conduche / David Odiete / Arthur Vignolles / Nicolas Ciancio