Strange impression: it was in a huge Stadium Lille Métropole, largely empty, that the first match of the year took place for the players of CS Vienne Rugby.
It indeed took place in this oversized stadium for the National 2 and in a land which moreover is not reputed rubystique, the North of France.
The Viennese indeed found themselves on this Saturday, January 14 against Marcq-en-Barœul, a valiant team that they had nevertheless been able to master on September 17 after a good comeback on their ground of Jean Etcheberry.
Trailing 15-0 at the Etcheberry stadium, the men of Viennese coach Philippe Buffevant then managed to regain the upper hand to finally win by 24-18.
What’s more, with only 25 points on the clock, the northern team is currently trailing in 10th place in the standings (the Viennese were 5th, at least before the match started), following a long losing streak at the end of year 2022.
And yet, it was the northern team which on this chilly Saturday in the northern climate won in both periods.
By 6/3 at the end of the first half: then by 16 to 8 at the final whistle, the Viennese flattening in the very last minutes a try, not converted and in any case insufficient to make a comeback this time saving.
The Skies et Blancs did not find the key this time to beat Northerners yet within their reach. We can argue to explain this poor performance, the great cold in which the players of Marcq-en-Barœul would know how to move better?
In any case, the Ciels et Blancs are off to a bad start for the year.
And you should know that the next matches promise to be just as difficult, against Bédarrides, on January 22, first, then against Rumilly.
We will have to recover!
