This Friday evening, Stade Niçois lost in its den against Oyonnax. A defeat which plunges the promoted a little further to the bottom of the ranking. A first failure for Jamie Cudmore, newly arrived on the Coast to lend a hand to the staff.
Stade Nice, bottom of the standings and dead last in terms of defense in Pro D2, created a surprise last Monday by announcing the arrival of Jamie Cudmore as a specialist defense consultant. The former Canadian second line, a true legend of ASM Clermont-Auvergne, was immediately integrated into training to try to remedy a critical and even borderline desperate situation.
With an average of 32 points conceded per match, the Riviera club is floundering in the bottom of the ranking, weighed down by chronic defensive fragility. Cudmore, known for his physical commitment and tactical rigor, arrived like a firefighter on duty, well aware of the scale of the task.
Still too fragile
However, the challenge immediately presented itself to him, Friday evening for a first against his former club Oyonnax. In a tracksuit top in club colors and shorts, his still imposing figure was immediately noticed when he returned to the central stand accompanied by Guillaume Cazanave, three-quarter coach. Despite the presence of the new mentor, Stade Nice conceded five tries: a cruel reminder of the collective fragilities which have undermined this team since the start of the season. The five tries scored by the Oyomen will be enough to disrupt the nights of the former Canada coach. Particularly in the second, where Gimbert and Odiete seemed very light against the power of Qadiri (37th). In addition to defense, it is the physical impact and collisions that the Nice suffered. And after seventeen days, it's hard to see how Cudmore could remedy this, other than perhaps by putting on his old crampons.
-If Nice supporters hope that the arrival of this heavyweight will mark a turning point, the path towards maintenance is far from over. Cudmore, however, has the advantage of having experienced contexts of intense pressure. If its experience is passed on to the group, Stade Niçois could well write a new chapter, that of resilience and recovery.
