Pro D2 – “We understood that we were not a small team”, believes Noa Pommelet (Nevers)

How did you manage to get back into the match despite losing 19-0 between the 22nd and 50th minutes?

We returned to the locker room at the end of the first half still in the match (14-10)by having ambitions. We knew that in the first ten minutes of the second act, it would be war and that we had to give our all. We suffered a little, but we were able to contain this Brive team well. Afterwards, we let the horses go, we had nothing more to lose. Our forward pack had a huge game! Behind, we were comfortable and that allowed us to create plenty of opportunities. And in the end, we won away at the favorite of this championship, who had not yet lost at home.

What is going through your head during this twisty end to the match?

Lots of things. We tell ourselves that we have done the job, that we still have 1 minute 30 to go, that we must take the penalty. In the end, the referees watch the video. We come back to a scrum for us. So there, we say to ourselves that there is one last chance, one last action. We find all the means to move forward. Shaun (Reynolds) attempts a drop which unfortunately does not pass. I think we had really tired this Brive team who ended up making a mistake and giving us the penalty for winning. Shaun, without pressure, managed to put it on. It was really a mix of all the emotions.

Behind you were surrounded by two players who were coming back from long injuries. How did it happen?

When you know the class of Léonard Paris or Yohan Le Bourhis, it's always easy to adapt with these players. It was the first time we played together. Our mentality was to want to hurt and want to move forward. It was a joy to play alongside them. There was a lot of communication between us.

With this victory, you confirm your good form in 2025…

The team had a difficult first part of the season. We heard the word “maintenance” a lot and the group was obviously affected. We said to ourselves that it would be a new year, that we were going to start the championship from scratch with fifteen matches to play, fifteen finals. We started 2025 with a very good performance at home against Mont-de-Marsan (34-0). Everyone felt confident coming to Brive. The training week was very good. The whole group worked well, knew their role, and gave their best. We told ourselves that we had nothing to lose, that we could let go. We end up snatching this success in the last moments.

You finally have a full away match…

Throughout the first part of the season, we scared each other during a lot of matches. We lost a lot of matches because of us. We could have very good first halves and completely miss the second half. That was our big downside. Now, last week's game did us a lot of good. The truce did us good too. We obviously take advantage of these moments to unite the team and not let each other go. I think we understood that we were not a small team. We had to get that out of our heads, and we had to play like a big team. We can push everyone around without pressure.

Also read:
Pro D2 – Lessons from the evening: the feat for Nevers, the revenge of Provence Rugby

Since your home defeat against Dax (24-31, November 29), you have four victories in five matches. What has changed since this match?

This match against Dax hurt us a lot. We had the impression of not being able to play and of going through a lot. 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. Everyone knew that we were capable of great things, but that we often failed. I think we got back together, we talked a lot. We tried to spend a lot of time between players, just to build a real bond, and to unite a real family. This is just the beginning. There, we remain on four victories in the last five matches. We win in Brive that's good, now the objective is to confirm this performance with a victory against Agen next week.