After 'preparing for the worst', Tom Daly determined to make most of Nice opportunity 

“I’d love to stay in France as long as I can and keep playing rugby. If my body is still able to play at a high level, I’d love to keep playing at a high level."

LIFE IN NICE: Former Connacht centre Tom Daly has swapped the West of Ireland for a new chapter in Nice. Picture:Stade Nicois Rugby

THE 3,000-capacity Stade Marcel Volot, home ground of promoted ProD2 side Nice, is by some margin the smallest venue in French professional rugby’s second-tier.

It’s two-fifths the capacity of the division’s next smallest venue, Dax’s Stade Maurice Boyau, while the largest stadium, Grenoble’s Stade des Alpes, has seats for crowds of 20,000-plus. On Friday, they hosted high-flying and ambitious Brive, who average crowds of nearly 12,500 at home this season.