CA Brive

CA Brive
	File:CABriveRugbyLogo.svg
Full name	Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin
Nickname(s)	Les Coujous; Les Gaillards (The Strapping Lads); Les Noir et Blanc (The Black and Whites); Les Zèbres (The Zebras)
Founded	1910; 113 years ago
Location	Brive-la-Gaillarde, France
Ground(s)	Stade Amédée-Domenech (Capacity: 14,759)
President	Simon Gillham
Coach(es)	Arnaud Mela (interim); Jean-Baptiste Péjoine (interim); Goderdzi Shvelidze (interim)
Captain(s)	Saïd Hireche
Most appearances	Jean-Claude Roques (373)
Top scorer	Jean-François Thiot (1796)
Most tries	Jean-Pierre Puidebois (115)
League(s)	Top 14
2021–22	12th
1st kit	2nd kit
Official website
	www.cabrive-rugby.com

Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive (French pronunciation: [bʁiv]) or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition.

Brive is a historical member of French rugby union, being one of the clubs that spent the most seasons in the best French domestic competition. "Les Coujous" also won the Heineken Cup in 1997 as they defeated Leicester Tigers in the final in a glorious 28-9 win.

Many great players, both French and foreign, played for the club currently headed by Simon Gillham, and the youth academy is known to be one of the best in France. For example, Brive had in its rows some players who went on to play for France. Among them, Amédée Domenech, nicknamed "Le Duc" ("The Duke") who played there in the 1950s and 60s, and gave his name to the stadium after his death in 2003. Prolific flanker Olivier Magne, fly-halves Christophe Lamaison and Alain Penaud, number-eight Jean-Luc Joinel and hooker Michel Yachvili, the father of Dimitri Yachvili, also wore the black and white jersey.

Their home ground is the 14,759-capacity Stade Amédée-Domenech and the club colours are black and white.

History

The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on 12 October 1912. Before the Second World War, Brive changed from rugby union to rugby league but returned to union after the war.

It played regularly in the First Division, and established itself as the stronghold of rugby in Limousin but for many years its only title was a Second Division trophy won in 1957. Brive did not make it to the final of the First Division championship until 1965. On 23 May that year they met SU Agen at Stade de Gerland in Lyon only to lose 15–8. Brive next made it to the final in the 1972 season, where they faced AS Béziers on May 21 in Lyon again, and again the Black and White came out the losers, as Béziers won their second consecutive title (9–0). Brive met AS Béziers in the final again three season later, in 1975. By then, Béziers had become the unbeatable team of the decade, and they won their fifth title, this time by just one point (13–12), at Parc des Princes in Paris.

Brive experienced a resurgence in the middle of the 1990s, first in 1996, when they made their first finals appearance since the mid-1970s in Paris. Brive however went down 20–13 to Stade Toulousain. It was their fourth losing final. Only one club have lost more finals without winning one than them (US Dax 5). That year however, they won the famed Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating Pau 12–6. The following season, they made it to the final of the Heineken Cup where they faced the Leicester Tigers from England at Cardiff Arms Park. Brive finally won a final, defeating the Tigers 28–9.^[1] They are the only club to win the European Cup without ever winning the domestic championship.

On 22 February 1997, Brive, as European champions, were pitted against Auckland Blues who had recently won the Super 12. The French team were no competition to an extra powerful Kiwi side which won easily 47–11.^[2] In 1998 Brive again reached the final of the Heineken Cup, this time against Bath. They came agonizingly close to capturing back-to-back titles, losing by just one point, 19–18 at Parc Lescure in Bordeaux.

Since then, however, the club has been in dire straits, as it was subjected to a punitive relegation to the second division in 2000 due to bad financial management. They bounced back two years later and have struggled ever since in the lower echelons of the league table, except in 2004 when they managed to qualify for the playoffs. In 2005, Brive went to the semi-finals of European Challenge Cup, but they lost to Pau. In 2009, after taking the sixth place of the Championship, the Black and White could participate to the Heineken Cup, but the competition was difficult for them, against the Europeans champions Leinster, Llanelli Scarlets and London Irish.

After difficulties and a relegation in second division in 2012, Brive returned to the Top 14 the following year, after defeating Pau.^[3]

Honours

Heineken Cup
- Champions (1): 1996–97
- Runners-up (1): 1997–98

French Rugby Union Championship
- Runners-up (4): 1964–65, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1995–96

French Second Division
- Champions (1): 1956–57
- Runners-up (2): 2012–13, 2018–19

Promotion play-offs Final/Top 14 Access Match
- Champions (2): 2012–13, 2018–19

Challenge Yves du Manoir:
- Champions (1): 1996
- Runners-up (2): 1963, 1974

Coupe de France:
- Runners-up (1): 2000

Finals results

Heineken Cup

Date	Winner	Runner-Up	Score	Stadium	Attendance
25 January 1997	Brive	Leicester Tigers	28–9	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	41,664
31 January 1998	Bath	Brive	19–18	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	36,500

French Rugby Union Championship

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Attendance
23 May 1965	Agen	Brive	15–8	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	28,758
21 May 1972	Béziers	Brive	9–0	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	31,161
18 May 1975	Béziers	Brive	13–12	Parc des Princes, Paris	39,991
1 June 1996	Toulouse	Brive	20–13	Parc des Princes, Paris	48,162

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Attendance
8 June 1963	Agen	Brive	11–0	Parc des Princes, Paris	N/A
18 May 1974	Narbonne	Brive	19–10	Stade Yves du Manoir, Colombes	15,000
27 January 1996	Brive	Pau	12–6	Stade Charléty, Paris	13,000

Coupe de France

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Attendance
1 June 2000	Biarritz	Brive	24–13	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	17,500

Current standings

2022–23 Top 14 Table

watch · edit · discuss

Club

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points for

Points against

Points diff.

Tries for

Tries against

Try bonus

Losing bonus

Points

1

Toulouse

2

0

54

33

21

6

4

1

0

9

2

La Rochelle

2

0

49

43

6

4

0

8

3

Brive

2

1

0

1

44

37

7

6

4

1

6

4

Lyon

2

1

0

1

52

50

2

7

5

0

1

5

Montpellier

2

1

0

1

51

45

6

3

5

0

1

5

6

Bayonne

2

1

0

1

56

65

-9

6

8

0

4

7

Castres

2

1

0

1

49

45

4

5

0

4

8

Clermont

2

1

0

1

51

48

3

6

4

0

4

9

Stade Français

2

1

0

1

44

48

-4

4

5

0

4

10

Pau

2

1

0

1

40

47

-7

3

6

0

4

11

Racing

2

1

0

1

50

0

6

4

0

4

12

Toulon

2

1

0

1

48

53

-5

6

7

0

4

13

Bordeaux Bègles

2

0

2

44

55

-11

6

4

0

1

14

Perpignan

2

0

2

20

33

-13

2

4

0

1

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

Competition points earned in head-to-head matches
Points difference in head-to-head matches
Try differential in head-to-head matches
Points difference in all matches
Try differential in all matches
Points scored in all matches
Tries scored in all matches
Fewer matches forfeited
Classification in the previous Top 14 season

Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places and receive berths in the 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup.
Yellow background (rows 7 and 8) indicates teams outside the play-offs that also earn a place in the Champions Cup.
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2023–24 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Pink background (row 13) will qualify to the relegation play-offs.
Red background (row 14) will automatically be relegated to 2023–24 Rugby Pro D2.
Final table — source: [1]
Updated:

Current squad

The Brive squad for the 2022–23 season:^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player	Position	Union
Lucas Da Silva	Hooker	France
Florian Dufour	Hooker	France
Vano Karkadze	Hooker	Georgia
Motu Matu'u	Hooker	Samoa
Daniel Brennan	Prop	France
Pietro Ceccarelli	Prop	Italy
Luka Japaridze	Prop	Georgia
Yann Lagane	Prop	France
Wesley Tapueluelu	Prop	Tonga
Hayden Thompson-Stringer	Prop	England
Tietie Tuimauga	Prop	Samoa
Marcel van der Merwe	Prop	South Africa
Malino Vanai	Prop	France
Julien Delannoy	Lock	France
Lucas Paulos	Lock	Argentina
Tevita Ratuva	Lock	Fiji
Renger van Eerten	Lock	Netherlands
Andres Zafra	Lock	Colombia
Esteban Abadie	Back row	France
Noe Bedou	Back row	France
Arthur Bruges	Back row	France
Rodrigo Bruni	Back row	Argentina
Sasha Ford	Back row	France
Saïd Hireche	Back row	Algeria
Mesu Kunavula	Back row	Fiji
Retief Marais	Back row	South Africa
Abraham Papali'i	Back row	New Zealand
Mattieu Voisin	Back row	France

Player	Position	Union
Paul Abadie	Scrum-half	France
Vasil Lobzhanidze	Scrum-half	Georgia
Enzo Sanga	Scrum-half	France
Enzo Herve	Fly-half	France
Tanguy Lacoste	Fly-half	France
Stuart Olding	Fly-half	Ireland
Sammy Arnold	Centre	Ireland
Tom Danovaro	Centre	France
Maxence Darthou	Centre	France
Guillaume Galletier	Centre	France
Nico Lee	Centre	South Africa
Setariki Tuicuvu	Centre	Fiji
Setareki Bituniyata	Wing	Fiji
Wesley Douglas	Wing	England
Aaron Grandidier	Wing	France
Axel Müller	Wing	Argentina
Valentin Tirefort	Wing	France
Joris Jurand	Fullback	France
Thomas Laranjeira	Fullback	France

Notable former players

The following are players who have represented their country, players who have won a title with the club, players who have played a sufficient number of games to go down in the club history or players who came from the academy and have made a significant career in another team:

References

^ Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.
^ Pope, Bruce (23 February 1997). "Brive out with the washing". The Independent. London: INM. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
^ Imakhoukhene, Hamid (19 May 2013). "Brive ne l'a pas volée". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 11 July 2014.
^ "Effectif". CA Brive (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2022.

External links

(in French) CA Brive Official website
Unofficial fan's site
CA Brive profile on Rugby15

[Cleary-1] Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.

[2] Pope, Bruce (23 February 1997). "Brive out with the washing". The Independent. London: INM. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

[3] Imakhoukhene, Hamid (19 May 2013). "Brive ne l'a pas volée". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 11 July 2014.

[Effectif-4] "Effectif". CA Brive (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Top 14
2022–23 Teams	Bayonne Bordeaux Brive Castres Clermont La Rochelle Lyon Montpellier Pau Perpignan Racing Stade Français Toulon Toulouse
Early years	1892 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19
Interbellum era	1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39
World War II	1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45
Post-war years	1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–80	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–95	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
Professional era and Top 16	1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05
Top 14	2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Trophy	Bouclier de Brennus
Governing body	Ligue Nationale de Rugby

v t e Brive – current squad
Forwards	Esteban Abadie Thomas Acquier Soso Bekoshvili Daniel Brennan Pietro Ceccarelli Steevy Cerqueira Simon-Pierre Chauvac Florian Dufour So'otala Fa'aso'o Otar Giorgadze Saïd Hireche Luka Japaridze Kitione Kamikamica Vano Karkadze Dylan Lam Victor Lebas Mitch Lees Retief Marais Peniami Narisia Lucas Paulos Tevita Ratuva Wesley Tapueluelu Cody Thomas Hayden Thompson-Stringer Matthieu Voisin Andrés Zafra
Backs	Paul Abadie Tedo Abzhandadze Setareki Bituniyata Maxence Darthou Wesley Douglas Sevanaïa Galala Guillaume Galletier Enzo Hervé Joris Jurand Thomas Laranjeira Nico Lee Vasil Lobzhanidze Axel Müller Stuart Olding Enzo Sanga Valentin Tirefort Pierre Tournebize Seta Tuicuvu
Coach	Jeremy Davidson