Six years after joining Nice, Thibaud Rey is living through an end of career he had not imagined. Relegated administratively while a decisive appeal runs its course, the Riviera side are in the dark. Between a stadium judged unfit for Pro D2, financial partners who have backed the club for years and a tight-knit squad that fears seeing years of work wiped out by a single decision, the Nice lock tells It’s Rugby, without dodging anything, about the strange mood inside the club.

IT’S RUGBY. – Thibaud, how is morale?
Thibaud Rey: It is a slightly unusual situation. Morale was pretty good at the start of the week. We were all on a training camp together in the Pyrenees, in Saint-Lary, preparing for this Pro D2 season. It stayed good all week, but we felt the worry building as the days went by. Talk about the club’s situation took up more and more room. Morale is still there, we still hope things will sort themselves out, but that worry is growing bit by bit.

Right now, what is your situation?
I do not really know, and in any case I avoid reading everything that gets said, because you find a bit of everything. For now, we are relegated. Our promotion to Pro D2 has been refused. I know the club is going to lodge an appeal and our situation will be decided by that process.

For now, are you still employed by the club? Are you being paid?
We are getting paid. Our contract started on 1 July, so normally we are paid at the start of the month. So far there is no delay. We do not have much news on that, but I think we will be paid as normal.

What have the club’s directors told you about the situation?
They have spoken to us. We have been told as soon as there were developments, negative or positive. But for the moment not a lot has moved. We are still waiting for news in the coming days.

I have been at Nice for six years and for three years we have been told about a stadium every time we are given a meeting

In spite of everything, are you keeping some optimism?
Yes, that was pretty much the message we shared among the players. We always hope for good news, because I know we are surrounded by intelligent, competent people who can see the club has a fine future. Everything built so far has taken a huge amount of time. The club was in Fédérale 3 not so long ago. It is a big piece of work done by every coach who has passed through here, by the directors, by all the players. I hope the people with the power to decide will make the right choices, because you do not end up here by chance. I think there is a very bright future for rugby in Nice and everything is here to succeed. I cannot see how the decisions could go against us. Maybe I am wrong, but I hope the news will be good.

Do you really understand why the club has ended up in this situation?
It is very easy to understand. First, we have gone from Nationale to Pro D2, and it is the second time we have managed to go up. On the field, we hit our targets. The problem is that we do not have a stadium suited to Pro D2. You cannot build the club’s future on solid ground with infrastructure like that. Everything has to move forward. If we progress on the field, the rest has to follow, so that shareholders and supporters can be looked after properly. We have partners who have been with us for many years, who rebuilt the club and made huge financial efforts to take it where it is today.

When you talk about efforts, are you also thinking about the dialogue between the club and the city council?
Yes, exactly. I have been at Nice for six years and for three years we have been told about a stadium every time we are given a meeting. We hear about the project in front of partners, in front of supporters… Words have to be followed by actions, that is all we are asking for. Again, I am certain that if things move, there is a very bright future for rugby alongside Nice.

We have families, children, partners who leave their jobs to follow us and who fight to find work again in the city where we chose to carry on our careers

Do you feel some players are starting to think about their own future, to protect themselves in case the axe falls?
Obviously. As I said, we thought about it less at the start of the week, but the more the days pass, the more we feel some players getting worried. We try to talk among ourselves to reassure each other, to pick up information here and there. For now we are not showing our worry too much. Some players arrived in Nice only three weeks or a month ago, others have been here much longer, and they are in this situation too. We are not on our own. We have families, children, partners who leave their jobs to follow us and who fight to find work again in the city where we chose to carry on our careers. It is not simple. All of that means the situation is not easy, and naturally we start thinking, turning it over and worrying about our future.

If you had to take one thing from these last few days, would it be the solidarity between you?
Yes, completely. We have only known each other for a month, the squad has changed quite a bit since last season. I have been pleasantly surprised by how much we have put in on the field but also off it, getting to know each other. That is part of our project too: bringing the new arrivals in. We had a very good pre-season over the first three weeks and the camp in Saint-Lary was very good as well. I can feel the game plan is already well taken on board by the new players, that they have settled in very well. We have come a long way in July. It would be a shame if it all stopped now, when the squad is here and everything is in place to work. Everything is ready for us to have a very good season. But it is out of our hands now.

Has a date been set? What exactly are you waiting for, and when?
We have heard a decision would be taken this Wednesday. From there, we should have more news. I do not know much more than that. There may be meetings in the coming days.

Are you already getting ready for it, whether the outcome is positive or not?
You inevitably think about it. We try to think about the positive scenario as much as we can, because we want this project to carry on. But it is starting to play on our minds, the nights are a bit shorter, there is that knot in the stomach settling in. If in the middle of next week we are told it is all over, it would be a first for a lot of players, and those are always hard moments to go through. There are fifty of us, recruitment is finished, squads are full everywhere… It would be a real disaster. Maybe ten or so players would find a contract, and the rest would be left stranded. We have young players brimming with talent, a very complete team. Personally, this was my last season, so it is hard to swallow. I do not want to finish this way. I also think about all those young lads who have a very bright future in rugby and who could be badly held back if the situation gets worse.