Regional 3 Occitanie – Canet and Nissan Colombiers, an exciting double final

Canet d’Aude offers a finale. Another one, we would be tempted to say, Champion of Occitanie and vice-champion of France 2022 of the 3rd tier, then champion of France 2023 of the 3rd region, has been doing well for more than two seasons. But can he dream of a historic double this year? To achieve this, it will be ready to win the title of champion of Occitania, obviously, the final in the form of a derby, against Nissan-Colombiers, which returns to the front of the Occitan region after a painful hiatus. See you in Leucate this Sunday, April 28, at 3 o’clock in the morning…

Canet d’Aude, faithful to the selection…

46-10 against Coeur Salagou in the final 16, 48-29 against Vauvert in the 8th, 34-18 in the quarter-final against RC Ponteilla, which was already considered a big test. Suffice it to say that the 29-8 (5-3 at halftime) match against Masseube, (still presented as a championship favorite since being voluntarily relegated from Region 1, while retaining most of its squad), is new. XXL performance from Audios. It’s enough to open the doors to new finals, and appetites, for Walter Langlade’s boys, every time.

Reactions

Benoît Bornancin (co-coach Masseube) : “We are disappointed, because we were aiming for the final, but the result still makes sense. We couldn’t score in the first half, with the help of the wind, then in the second, we made a lot of hand mistakes. We’ll probably try one too many at the end, but now we’ll go to the French championship with a big appetite.”

Aurélien Sans (AS Canet Club) : “It’s a good win, we’re very happy, but it’s a step. We’re a big group of friends, now we’re waiting to play this final. Moreover, it will be close to home, it will be a great celebration of rugby. »

Frank Carla (coach of AS Canet) : “We saw great resistance against the Masseube team that did not give up, we were strong on our foundations and won well, even we did the test at the wrong time, but we were able to get back on track. it was necessary, so in general, it was deserved. We will prepare well for the final against a team we know, it will be 50/50. »

Nissan Colombiers, the awakening of the squad…

Nissan Colombiers on the other hand, it is (also) difficult. After a flawless 32-7 game against the Marguerittes in the 16th minute, it was a two-bet battle that was played against Cruzy Saint Chinian in the 8th. The victory opened the doors to the quarter-finals of course, qualifying for the French championship, but also and above all, moving directly to the next level.

Suffice it to say that 25-11 at the end of this match had the taste of a job well done for the season. But don’t think that this is a result in the Violet and Blue range. 39-13 against Aveyronnais de Viviez in the quarter final proved to be good.

A dangerous half against Mardaing Azereix Ossun, a young but tough team from the Hautes-Pyrénées, was another life-size test. Mardaing led 20-13 at halftime, before Héraultais, in full control, managed to turn the tide to win 30-23, further confirmation, of the strong character of ‘USNC, which we remember was dormant. almost two years ago. To challenge the defending champions France, you will definitely have to be on your toes. And look back on the not-so-distant past to remember the trophies collected by the Nissanans, who have entered the history of this club of more than a century.

Canet and Nissan have already faced off in this regular season with a winning record for Canet, and a tie. If the forecast is in favor of ASC, nothing guarantees the result. Both teams are well aware of this. Which of these two clubs with feet in the vineyard can say that this year 2024 will remain a great grape? Answer this Sunday at 3 am at Leucate Stadium…

Answers by Mathieu Amilhastre, co-trainer of Nissan-Colombiers:

“Covid hurt us, and so did the sleep that followed. But the desire was clearly shown to restore the picture. We increased the workforce to 80%, and mainly boys from the village. Some had gone to Capestang, but they came back. All the workers and managers worked to call people back, we hit a lot of phone calls with Yoan (Portes) so we could go away, and recreate life around rugby. Our two great tournaments in the regional and national Challenges helped attract some players, while comforting others.

Today, we are reaping the fruits of our efforts. By connecting the win, we added a target arrow. First qualify, have the highest possible position to receive, then win the quarter to move up, and now we are in the final, give everything to get a piece of wood. The players are tired, we are going to play 5 matches in a row for the first time, it’s a lot, it’s a lot. But that’s the way it is and we’re not going to talk about scheduling issues today. Adrenaline will carry us, we are happy to be there and we hope it will be a good match against Canet, who was expected at this level, maybe not us. But the final is 50-50…”