Template:Short description Template:Infobox rugby team
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department.
Brive is a historical member of French rugby union, being one of the clubs that spent the most seasons in the top French domestic competition. "Les Coujous" also won the Heineken Cup in 1997, defeating Leicester Tigers in the final in a 28–9 win.
Many great players, both French and foreign, played for the club currently headed by Simon Gillham, and the youth academy has a good reputation. Brive players who also on to play for France include: 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.
HistoryEdit
The club was created on 15 March 1910. 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 21 May 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, on five). That year however, they won the 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.<ref name=Cleary>Template:Cite book</ref> They are the only club to win the European Cup without ever winning their 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1998 Brive again reached the final of the Heineken Cup, this time against Bath. They came 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 but 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 in 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 to the second division in 2012, Brive returned to the Top 14 the following year, after defeating Pau.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HonoursEdit
- Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup
- French championship Top 14
- Pro D2
- Promotion play-offs Final/Top 14 Access Match
- Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions (1): 1996
- Runners-up (2): 1963, 1974
- French Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2000
Finals resultsEdit
Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions CupEdit
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 25 January 1997 | Template:Flagicon CA Brive | 28–9 | Template:Flagicon Leicester Tigers | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff | 41,664 |
| 31 January 1998 | Template:Flagicon Bath | 19–18 | Template:Flagicon CA Brive | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 36,500 |
French championshipEdit
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 23 May 1965 | SU Agen | 15–8 | CA Brive | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 28,758 |
| 21 May 1972 | AS Béziers | 9–0 | CA Brive | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 31,161 |
| 18 May 1975 | AS Béziers | 13–12 | CA Brive | Parc des Princes, Paris | 39,991 |
| 1 June 1996 | Stade Toulousain | 20–13 | CA Brive | Parc des Princes, Paris | 48,162 |
Challenge Yves du ManoirEdit
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Spectators |
| 8 June 1963 | SU Agen | 11–0 | CA Brive | Template:Abbr |
| 18 May 1974 | RC Narbonne | 19–10 | CA Brive | 15,000 |
| 27 January 1996 | CA Brive | 12–6 | Section Paloise | 13,000 |
French CupEdit
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 1 June 2000 | Biarritz Olympique | 24–13 | CA Brive | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 17,500 |
Current standingsEdit
{{#lst:2024–25 Rugby Pro D2 season|table}}
Current squadEdit
The Brive squad for the 2024–25 season is:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Rugby squad start Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad mid Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad end
Espoirs squadEdit
Template:Rugby squad start Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad mid Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad player Template:Rugby squad end
Notable former playersEdit
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:
_-_53Fi4662_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
- Template:Flagicon Horacio Agulla
- Template:Flagicon Lisandro Arbizu
- Template:Flagicon Christian Martin
- Template:Flagicon Agustin Figuerola
- Template:Flagicon Pablo Henn
- Template:Flagicon Alex Moreno
- Template:Flagicon Eduardo Simone
- Template:Flagicon Tim Donnelly
- Template:Flagicon Peter FitzSimons
- Template:Flagicon Mark Giacheri
- Template:Flagicon Poutasi Luafutu
- Template:Flagicon Alfie Mafi
- Template:Flagicon Chris Tuatara-Morrison
- Template:Flagicon John Welborn
- Template:Flagicon Scott Franklin
- Template:Flagicon John Tait
- Template:Flagicon Phil Christophers
- Template:Flagicon Ben Cohen
- Template:Flagicon Riki Flutey
- Template:Flagicon Shane Geraghty
- Template:Flagicon Andy Goode
- Template:Flagicon Ben Johnston
- Template:Flagicon Jamie Noon
- Template:Flagicon Shaun Perry
- Template:Flagicon Steve Thompson
- Template:Flagicon Christian Short
- Template:Flagicon Filimone Bolavucu
- Template:Flagicon Kitione Kamikamica
- Template:Flagicon Sisa Koyamaibole
- Template:Flagicon Norman Ligairi
- Template:Flagicon Tabai Matson
- Template:Flagicon Benito Masilevu
- Template:Flagicon Peniami Narisia
- Template:Flagicon Dominiko Waqaniburotu
- Template:Flagicon Demba Bamba
- Template:Flagicon Roger Bastié
- Template:Flagicon Mathieu Bélie
- Template:Flagicon Nicolas Bézy
- Template:Flagicon Alexandre Bias
- Template:Flagicon Pascal Bomati
- Template:Flagicon Sébastien Bonetti
- Template:Flagicon Terry Bouhraoua
- Template:Flagicon Russlan Boukerou
- Template:Flagicon Jacques Boussuge
- Template:Flagicon Hugues Briatte
- Template:Flagicon Julien Brugnaut
- Template:Flagicon Romain Cabannes
- Template:Flagicon Benoît Cabello
- Template:Flagicon Julien Caminati
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Capdevielle
- Template:Flagicon Georges Carabignac
- Template:Flagicon Philippe Carbonneau
- Template:Flagicon Alain Carminati
- Template:Flagicon Sébastien Carrat
- Template:Flagicon Florian Cazenave
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Chadebech
- Template:Flagicon Damien Chouly
- Template:Flagicon Antonie Claassen
- Template:Flagicon Valentin Courrent
- Template:Flagicon Benjamin Dambielle
- Template:Flagicon Thierry Devergie
- Template:Flagicon Amédée Domenech
- Template:Flagicon Yves Donguy
- Template:Flagicon Thibault Dubarry
- Template:Flagicon Fabrice Estebanez
- Template:Flagicon Roger Fite
- Template:Flagicon Mickaël Forest
- Template:Flagicon Gaëtan Germain
- Template:Flagicon Jérôme Guisset
- Template:Flagicon Dominique Harize
- Template:Flagicon Cédric Heymans
- Template:Flagicon Teddy Iribaren
- Template:Flagicon Nicolas Jeanjean
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Luc Joinel
- Template:Flagicon Virgile Lacombe
- Template:Flagicon Damien Lagrange
- Template:Flagicon Julien Laharrague
- Template:Flagicon Christophe Lamaison
- Template:Flagicon Benjamin Lapeyre
- Template:Flagicon Julien Le Devedec
- Template:Flagicon Olivier Magne
- Template:Flagicon Arnaud Mela
- Template:Flagicon Arnaud Mignardi
- Template:Flagicon Rodolphe Modin
- Template:Flagicon Vincent Moscato
- Template:Flagicon Alexis Palisson
- Template:Flagicon Élie Pebeyre
- Template:Flagicon Michel Pebeyre
- Template:Flagicon Alexandre Péclier
- Template:Flagicon Alain Penaud
- Template:Flagicon Maxime Petitjean
- Template:Flagicon Lucas Pointud
- Template:Flagicon Jefferson Poirot
- Template:Flagicon Fabien Sanconnie
- Template:Flagicon Thomas Sanchou
- Template:Flagicon Patrick Sébastien
- Template:Flagicon Atila Septar
- Template:Flagicon Farid Sid
- Template:Flagicon Scott Spedding
- Template:Flagicon Laurent Travers
- Template:Flagicon Sébastien Vahaamahina
- Template:Flagicon Ludovic Valbon
- Template:Flagicon Loïc Van Der Linden
- Template:Flagicon David Venditti
- Template:Flagicon Elvis Vermeulen
- Template:Flagicon Sébastien Viars
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Villepreux
- Template:Flagicon Dimitri Yachvili
- Template:Flagicon Michel Yachvili
- Template:Flagicon Tedo Abzhandadze
- Template:Flagicon Karlen Asieshvili
- Template:Flagicon Soso Bekoshvili
- Template:Flagicon Otar Giorgadze
- Template:Flagicon Giorgi Jgenti
- Template:Flagicon Vasil Kakovin
- Template:Flagicon David Khinchagishvili
- Template:Flagicon Mamuka Magrakvelidze
- Template:Flagicon Irakli Natriashvili
- Template:Flagicon Anton Peikrishvili
- Template:Flagicon Goderdzi Shvelidze
- Template:Flagicon Valerio Bernabò
- Template:Flagicon Luciano Orquera
- Template:Flagicon Damian Browne
- Template:Flagicon Tjiuee Uanivi
- Template:Flagicon Brad Mika
- Template:Flagicon Tamato Leupolu
- Template:Flagicon Viliame Waqaseduadua
- Template:Flagicon Grzegorz Kacala
- Template:Flagicon Petru Bălan
- Template:Flagicon Alexandru Manta
- Template:Flagicon Sorin Socol
- Template:Flagicon Petrișor Toderașc
- Template:Flagicon Pat Barnard
- Template:Flagicon Kevin Buys
- Template:Flagicon So'otala Fa'aso'o
- Template:Flagicon Terry Fanolua
- Template:Flagicon Na'ama Leleimalefaga
- Template:Flagicon Simon Lemalu
- Template:Flagicon Mike Blair
- Template:Flagicon Tom Smith
- Template:Flagicon Gregor Townsend
- Template:Flagicon Alex Dunbar
- Template:Flagicon Suka Hufanga
- Template:Flagicon Kevin Dalzell
- Template:Flagicon Barry Davies
- Template:Flagicon Liam Davies
- Template:Flagicon Kieran Murphy
- Template:Flagicon Alix Popham
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:In lang CA Brive Official website
- Unofficial fan's site
- CA Brive profile on Rugby15
Template:Pro D2 Template:Rugby union in France Template:CA Brive squad