Pro D2 – The lessons of the 17th day: how did Nevers manage to raise its head?

Worst away team, already three defeats at home, and a penultimate place (tied with Oyonnax and Valence-Romans)… At the end of November, after another slap at home against Dax (24-31), the men of Xavier Péméja were at their worst. The manager even went to present his resignation to his president Régis Dumange, which the latter refused in solidarity with his staff. The rest of the staff, in fact, is coveted and could leave Nièvre this summer. The forwards coach Sébastien Fouassier is in advanced contact with Provence Rugby, while the three-quarters coach Guillaume Jan pleases Agen. And yet, for more than a month, the Uson players have raised their heads. “We understood after Dax that we were really in trouble. It was not for lack of warning before, but there really was an awareness,” notes Xavier Péméja. “This match against Dax hurt us a lot, confirms the Noa Pommelet center. We probably considered ourselves a small team. We said to ourselves that we had to save the club. Each of us did not want to see our name associated with the descent from Nevers. We talked a lot, tried to spend a lot of time between players, just to build a real bond. We heard the word “maintenance” a lot and the group was obviously affected. We said to ourselves that 2025 would be a new year, that we would start the championship from scratch with fifteen matches to play, fifteen finals.”

“We understood that we were not a small team”

From words to actions. At the start of 2025, the Neversois won their second offensive bonus against Mont-de-Marsan at the end of a very successful match (34-0) before this feat achieved in Brive, the designated favorite of this Pro D2! “I think we understood that we were not a small team, continues the center who took part in the last five Uson matches. We had to get that out of our heads, and that We had to play like a big team, without pressure, we can push everyone around.”
However, the Nivernais do not want to get excited, like second row Ugo Vignolles. “We were still fourteenth in the British rankings before this victory in Brive. We will say that we are taking a little breath, but we also know this championship. We have already seen, in this first block, that we could also lose at home, that it could go very quickly in one direction or the other. The continuation is not yet assured. We will have to win at home next Friday against Agen, move forward and see what has in store for us. following.” Today, Nevers is tenth, closer to the top 6 than to the red zone…