USON Nevers hopes to create a surprise to reach Elite

After failing at the final stages in 2020/2021, USON Nevers intends to resume its march forward in 2021/2022. The quantities? The enthusiasm of the young shoots of the center, the experience of the recruits and the return of the audience seething at Pré Fleuri.

Some failures make you stronger. The cliché may sound trite, sure, but it fits perfectly in the case of USON Nevers. Disturbed by several injuries at the end of 2020, Nivernais couldn’t do better than seventh place in Pro D2 in 2020/2021. For Director Xavier Péméja, position since 2016, there are many regrets.

“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t go far. That’s it. The many injuries continued to raise questions about the group. We had big disciplinary problems at the start of the season. It costs us a lot of points per foot.

Things were much better in the second half of the season. Despite everything, we finished in the top five defences, in the first five in terms of the number of attempts scored, not everything should be thrown away.” coach says.

“Losing Shawn Reynolds hurts us. It has forced us to have a slightly less busy game. We have to rebalance all of that. We may have given ourselves a lot in areas of the field where we shouldn’t. We will try to rebalance all of that.”

Far from giving in, the Nivernais technician sees more:

“We also had some problems in our game. We are the team with the most assists. Unfortunately, we weighed a lot of turnover. If we compare ourselves to the best, we have a lot of similar numbers.

The difference is made in the number of balls lost and the speed of the ball out. This is the sector in which we must work as a priority. “

USON Nevers appointed smart

To do this, USON Nevers trusts several young shoots from the Training Center. In order to support them, the club focused on recruiting experienced players.

Arriving from Montauban and Northampton, the 28-year-old New Zealander in the opening half of Aviata Silago and 29-year-old South African third-tier Shaun Adendorff will have the challenging task of guiding the young goalkeeper from Nevernaes to the final stages.

“Our workforce is very small. I think it would be a strong point if there were several CEOs to frame everything. In that sense, Adendorff and Silago’s experience would be significant” Xavier Péméja explains.

After half-man Guillaume Manevy in 2020, winger Andrzej Charlat also returns to the club that coached him. At 26, the former Aix is ​​on a mission and intends to take his heart club to the Top 14 for the first time in Pro D2 history.

“These are players who have been able to export themselves and learn elsewhere. They know where and why they are coming from. It is very important. One of my goals is to create an identity with this group to work and succeed together” Xavier Péméja says.

Adendorff and Silago in Pack Heads

At Pré Fleuri Stadium, the Nivernais will also be able to count on the return of their fans. An essential contribution by Xavier Péméja:

“She was a big miss last season. When it’s full, Pré Fleuri makes a huge noise. For the players, this changes everything. I am convinced that with our fans, we will not lose against Perpignan and against Grenoble” Check out Montauban’s home.

“They will tell me it’s the same for everyone. It’s not true. In Nevers, it’s special. When there are 7,000 people in the stands, it makes the noise not possible. Because of the local identity of the club, there is a real link between the players and the fans.”

If that was really the case last year, the goals would be clearly displayed on the Nevers side: Top 6 or none. After the successful additional Mercato, Xavier Bemaga firmly believes in him.

“This group is quality, the staff work very well, and the boss provides work resources that adapt to Pro D2. It makes you want to succeed. It’s a project and a shared vision, and I don’t see why we couldn’t make it.” Nevers kicks in contact.

Adrian Cornu