CA Brive

Brive

Full name	Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin
Founded	1910
Location	Brive-la-Gaillarde, France
Ground(s)	Stade Amédée-Domenech (Capacity: 15,000)
President	Jean-Jacques Bertrand
Coach(es)	Ugo Mola
Captain(s)	Antonie Claassen
League(s)	Top 14
2010–11	12th
1st kit 2nd kit 3rd kit
Official website
www.cabrive-rugby.com/

Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech (capacity 15,000).

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. So far, they are one of only two clubs to win the European Cup without ever winning the domestic championship, the other club being the Northampton Saints.

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.^[1]. 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 lose against 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 the Leinster, the Llanelli Scarlets and the London Irish.

Players past and present

Brive have bred some 30 players who went on to play for France. Among them, Amédée Domenech, nicknamed "Le Duc"" ("the Duke") who played there in the 50s and 60s, and gave his name to the stadium shortly after his death in 2003. Prolific flanker Olivier Magne, fly-half Christophe Lamaison or Alain Penaud , number-eight Jean-Luc Joinel and hooker Michel Yachvili, the father of Dimitri Yachvili, also wore the CAB jersey. Argentinian fly-half Lisandro Arbizu and powerful prop Christian Martin also played for them. Two French internationals are currently playing for Brive, fullback Alexis Palisson and Arnaud Méla. But the club has become home to many Pacific Islanders including the Fijian Norman Ligairi, the Samoa and Gloucester legend Terry Fanolua and Tongan Suka Hufanga. They recently signed Welsh International, Barry Davies from the Llanelli Scarlets and Andy Goode from the Leicester Tigers, and have also signed New Zealand-born England international Riki Flutey from London Wasps effective with the 2009–10 season.

Finals results

French championship

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
23 May 1965	SU Agen	CA Brive	15–8	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	28.758
21 May 1972	AS Béziers	CA Brive	9–0	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	31.161
18 May 1975	AS Béziers	CA Brive	13–12	Parc des Princes, Paris	39.991
1 June 1996	Stade Toulousain	CA Brive	20–13	Parc des Princes, Paris	48.162

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
1 June 1963	Pau	CA Brive	12-6	Stade Charléty, Paris	13.000
18 May 1974	RC Narbonne	CA Brive	19–10	Stade Yves du Manoir, Colombes
27 January 1996	CA Brive	SU Agen	11–0	Parc des Princes, Paris	13.000

Coupe de France

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
1 June 2000	Biarritz Olympique	CA Brive	24-13	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux

Heineken Cup

Date	Winner	Runner-Up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
25 January 1997	CA Brive	Leicester Tigers	28–9	Arms Park, Cardiff	41.664
31 January 1998	Bath Rugby	CA Brive	19–18	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	36.500

Current squad

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

Player Position Union Louis Acosta Hooker France Virgile Lacombe Hooker France Irakli Natriashvili Hooker Georgia Guillaume Ribes Hooker France Pat Barnard* Prop England Alexandre Barozzi Prop France Pierre Capdevielle Prop France Pablo Cardinali Prop Argentina Pablo Henn Prop Argentina Vasil Kakovin Prop Georgia Davit Khinchagishvili Prop Georgia Victor Laval Prop France Jefferson Poirot Prop France Olivier Caisso Lock France Thibault Dubarry Lock France Arnaud Méla Lock France Retief Uys Lock South Africa Dimitri Vaotoa Lock France Simon Azoulai Flanker France Alexandre Bias Flanker France Vincent Forgues Flanker France Petrus Hauman Flanker South Africa Poutasi Luafutu Flanker Australia Antonie Claassen (c) Number 8 South Africa Julien Le Devedec Number 8 France

Player Position Union Mathieu Bélie Scrum-half France Agustín Figuerola Scrum-half Argentina Jean-Baptiste Péjoine Scrum-half France Shane Geraghty Fly-half England Scott Spedding Fly-half South Africa Ronnie Cooke Centre South Africa Yann Fior Centre France Arnaud Mignardi Centre France Jamie Noon (vc) Centre England Mathias Atayi Wing France Jacques Boussuge Wing France Sevenaïa Galala Wing Fiji Clément Marienval Wing France Guillaume Namy Wing France Julien Caminati Fullback France Nicolas Jeanjean Fullback France

^[2]

• Named in the England squad for a number of games during spell at Northampton, therefore his status in terms of IRB nationalitity is english^[3]

In for 2011/2012

• Poutasi Luafutu (from Tasman)
• Shane Geraghty (from Northampton Saints)
• Sevenaïa Galala
• Alexandre Barozzi (from Biarritz)
• Alexandre Bias
• Jacques Boussuge (from Bath)
• Olivier Caisso (from Colomiers)
• Pierre Capdevielle (from Gloucester)
• Yann Fior (from Biarritz)
• Virgile Lacombe (from Toulouse)
• Clément Marienval (from Toulon)
• Arnaud Mignardi (from Biarritz)
• Irakli Natriashvili (from Farul Constanţa)
• Petrus Hauman (from Aurillac)

Out for 2011/2012

• Shaun Perry (to Worcester Warriors)
• Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux (to Lyon)
• Benoît Cabello (to Clermont)
• Fabien Domingo (to Tulle)
• Louis Dubois (to Béziers)
• Jonathan Elgoyhen (to Montauban)
• Fabrice Estebanez (to Racing Métro)
• Pascal Idieder - Retiring, RC Chameyrat Coach
• Jonathan Leite (to Limoges)
• Régis Lespinas (to Lyon)
• Benoît Manteaux (to Montauban)
• Alexis Palisson (to Toulon)
• Damian Browne (to Leinster)
• Luciano Orquera (to Aironi)
• Viliame Waqaseduadua (to Grenoble)
• Gerard Vosloo (to Clermont)
• Alix Popham - Retiring

Internationally capped players

• Pablo Cardinali
• Agustín Figuerola
• Pablo Henn
• Shane Geraghty
• Jamie Noon
• Nicolas Jeanjean
• Arnaud Méla
• Vasil Kakovin
• Davit Khinchaguishvili
• Irakli Natriashvili

Notable former players

French players

Christian Martin Lisandro Arbizu Peter FitzSimons Ben Cohen Riki Flutey Andy Goode Shaun Perry Steve Thompson Norman Ligairi Pierre Capdevielle Philippe Carbonneau Valentin Courrent Thierry Devergie Amédée Domenech Fabrice Estebanez Cédric Heymans Jean-Luc Joinel Christophe Lamaison Olivier Magne Alexis Palisson Alain Penaud

Ludovic Valbon Loïc Van Der Linden Elvis Vermeulen Sébastien Viars Pierre Villepreux Dimitri Yachvili Damian Browne Christian Short Valerio Bernabò Luciano Orquera Viliame Waqaseduadua Grzegorz Kacala Alexandru Manta Sorin Socol Petrişor Toderasc Antonie Claassen Gregor Townsend Suka Hufanga Barry Davies Alix Popham

References

1. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970313/ai_n14099062
2. ^ (French) "L'effectif du Cab – Saison 2009/2010". Official club homepage of CA Brive. http://www.cabrive-rugby.com/home.php?v_lang=FR&rub=2. 
3. ^ "Voyce dropped from England elite". BBC. 2006-08-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/5234342.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 

External links

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