# CA Brive

Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive (French pronunciation:) 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.

## History

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. 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. 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.

## Honours

* Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup
** Champions (1): 1997
** Runners-up (1): 1998
* French championship Top 14
** Runners-up (4): 1965, 1972, 1975, 1996
* Pro D2
** Champions (1): 1957
** Runners-up (2): 2013, 2019
* 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
* French Cup
** Runners-up (1): 2000

## Finals results
### Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 25 January 1997 | CA Brive | 28–9 | Leicester Tigers | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff | 41,664 |
| 31 January 1998 | Bath | 19–18 | CA Brive | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 36,500 |

### French championship

| 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 Manoir

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Spectators |
| 8 June 1963 | SU Agen | 11–0 | CA Brive | N/A |
| 18 May 1974 | RC Narbonne | 19–10 | CA Brive | 15,000 |
| 27 January 1996 | CA Brive | 12–6 | Section Paloise | 13,000 |

### French Cup

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 1 June 2000 | Biarritz Olympique | 24–13 | CA Brive | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 17,500 |

## Current standings

2024–25 Pro D2 Table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Grenoble | 23 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 758 | 476 | +282 | 9 | 2 | 79 | Semi-final promotion playoff place |
| 2 | Provence | 23 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 617 | 541 | +76 | 5 | 4 | 67 | Semi-final promotion playoff place |
| 3 | Brive | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 573 | 466 | +107 | 7 | 4 | 67 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 4 | Béziers | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 592 | 501 | +91 | 6 | 6 | 64 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 5 | Montauban | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 618 | 590 | +28 | 3 | 3 | 62 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 6 | Soyaux Angoulême | 23 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 563 | 569 | −6 | 4 | 1 | 61 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 7 | Colomiers | 23 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 604 | 614 | −10 | 3 | 5 | 58 | |
| 8 | Oyonnax | 23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 558 | 487 | +71 | 5 | 3 | 50 | |
| 9 | Biarritz | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 523 | 533 | −10 | 3 | 3 | 49 | |
| 10 | Dax | 23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 503 | 549 | −46 | 2 | 4 | 48 | |
| 11 | Nevers | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 476 | 603 | −127 | 2 | 2 | 48 | |
| 12 | Mont-de-Marsan | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 599 | 637 | −38 | 2 | 5 | 47 | |
| 13 | Valence Romans | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 597 | 589 | +8 | 2 | 8 | 46 | |
| 14 | Agen | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 547 | 550 | −3 | 2 | 7 | 45 | |
| 15 | Aurillac | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 509 | 678 | −169 | 1 | 1 | 42 | Relegation play-off |
| 16 | Nice | 23 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 429 | 683 | −254 | 0 | 6 | 22 | Relegation to Nationale |

## Current squad

The Brive squad for the 2023–24 season is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Benjamin Boudou | Hooker | France |
| Lucas Da Silva | Hooker | France |
| Issam Hamel | Hooker | Algeria |
| Adrien Pélissié | Hooker | France |
| Vakh Abdaladze | Prop | Georgia |
| Francisco Coria Marchetti | Prop | Argentina |
| Nathan Fraissenon | Prop | France |
| Hugo Reilhes | Prop | France |
| Wesley Tapueluelu | Prop | Tonga |
| Marcel van der Merwe | Prop | South Africa |
| Julien Delannoy | Lock | France |
| Courtney Lawes | Lock | England |
| Tevita Ratuva | Lock | Fiji |
| Oskar Rixen | Lock | Germany |
| Sitaleki Timani | Lock | Tonga |
| Renger van Eerten | Lock | United States |
| Sasha Gué | Back row | France |
| Saïd Hireche | Back row | Algeria |
| Retief Marais | Back row | South Africa |
| Ross Moriarty | Back row | Wales |
| Taniela Sadrugu | Back row | Fiji |
| Asier Usarraga | Back row | Spain |
| Matthieu Voisin | Back row | France |
| Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco | Back row | New Zealand |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Julien Blanc | Scrum-half | France |
| Leo Carbonneau | Scrum-half | France |
| Jackson Garden-Bachop | Fly-half | New Zealand |
| Stuart Olding | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Guillaume Galletier | Centre | France |
| Sam Johnson | Centre | Scotland |
| Nico Lee | Centre | South Africa |
| Paul Walisoliso | Centre | Fiji |
| Arthur Bonneval | Wing | France |
| Mathieu Brignonen | Wing | France |
| Wesley Douglas | Wing | England |
| Asaeli Tuivuaka | Wing | Fiji |
| Aaron Grandidier | Fullback | France |
| Thomas Laranjeira | Fullback | France |

### Espoirs squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Quentin Algay | Hooker | France |
| Valerio Siciliano | Hooker | Italy |
| Daniel Fereti | Prop | Fiji |
| Yann Lagane | Prop | France |
| Ayermic Lager | Prop | France |
| Pierre-Chanel Tafili | Prop | France |
| Teun Karst | Lock | Netherlands |
| Joeli Matalweru | Lock | Fiji |
| David Geneste | Back row | France |
| Loan Lavergne | Back row | France |
| Max Lestro | Back row | Fiji |
| Geoffrey Malaterre | Back row | France |
| Thomas Seguy | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Noe Bros | Scrum-half | France |
| Luka Keletaona | Fly-half | France |
| Tom Raffy | Fly-half | France |
| Maxence Bisaotto | Centre | France |
| Maxime Claux | Centre | France |
| Kevin Fabien | Centre | Russia |
| Bastien Masse | Centre | France |
| Georges Shvelidze | Centre | Georgia |
| Benjamin Lefranc | Wing | France |
| Mathis Ferte | Fullback | France |
| Nic Krone | Fullback | South Africa |
| Lewis Noon | Fullback | England |

## 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:
* Horacio Agulla
* Lisandro Arbizu
* Christian Martin
* Agustin Figuerola
* Pablo Henn
* Alex Moreno
* Eduardo Simone
* Tim Donnelly
* Peter FitzSimons
* Mark Giacheri
* Poutasi Luafutu
* Alfie Mafi
* Chris Tuatara-Morrison
* John Welborn
* Scott Franklin
* John Tait
* Phil Christophers
* Ben Cohen
* Riki Flutey
* Shane Geraghty
* Andy Goode
* Ben Johnston
* Jamie Noon
* Shaun Perry
* Steve Thompson
* Christian Short
* Filimone Bolavucu
* Kitione Kamikamica
* Sisa Koyamaibole
* Norman Ligairi
* Tabai Matson
* Benito Masilevu
* Peniami Narisia
* Dominiko Waqaniburotu
* Demba Bamba
* Roger Bastié
* Mathieu Bélie
* Nicolas Bézy
* Alexandre Bias
* Pascal Bomati
* Sébastien Bonetti
* Terry Bouhraoua
* Russlan Boukerou
* Jacques Boussuge
* Hugues Briatte
* Julien Brugnaut
* Romain Cabannes
* Benoît Cabello
* Julien Caminati
* Pierre Capdevielle
* Georges Carabignac
* Philippe Carbonneau
* Alain Carminati
* Sébastien Carrat
* Florian Cazenave
* Pierre Chadebech
* Damien Chouly
* Antonie Claassen
* Valentin Courrent
* Benjamin Dambielle
* Thierry Devergie
* Amédée Domenech
* Yves Donguy
* Thibault Dubarry
* Fabrice Estebanez
* Roger Fite
* Mickaël Forest
* Gaëtan Germain
* Jérôme Guisset
* Dominique Harize
* Cédric Heymans
* Teddy Iribaren
* Nicolas Jeanjean
* Jean-Luc Joinel
* Virgile Lacombe
* Damien Lagrange
* Julien Laharrague
* Christophe Lamaison
* Benjamin Lapeyre
* Julien Le Devedec
* Olivier Magne
* Arnaud Mela
* Arnaud Mignardi
* Rodolphe Modin
* Vincent Moscato
* Alexis Palisson
* Élie Pebeyre
* Michel Pebeyre
* Alexandre Péclier
* Alain Penaud
* Maxime Petitjean
* Lucas Pointud
* Jefferson Poirot
* Fabien Sanconnie
* Thomas Sanchou
* Patrick Sébastien
* Atila Septar
* Farid Sid
* Scott Spedding
* Laurent Travers
* Sébastien Vahaamahina
* Ludovic Valbon
* Loïc Van Der Linden
* David Venditti
* Elvis Vermeulen
* Sébastien Viars
* Pierre Villepreux
* Dimitri Yachvili
* Michel Yachvili
* Tedo Abzhandadze
* Karlen Asieshvili
* Soso Bekoshvili
* Otar Giorgadze
* Giorgi Jgenti
* Vasil Kakovin
* David Khinchagishvili
* Mamuka Magrakvelidze
* Irakli Natriashvili
* Anton Peikrishvili
* Goderdzi Shvelidze
* Valerio Bernabò
* Luciano Orquera
* Damian Browne
* Tjiuee Uanivi
* Brad Mika
* Tamato Leupolu
* Viliame Waqaseduadua
* Grzegorz Kacala
* Petru Bălan
* Alexandru Manta
* Sorin Socol
* Petrișor Toderașc
* Pat Barnard
* Kevin Buys
* So'otala Fa'aso'o
* Terry Fanolua
* Na'ama Leleimalefaga
* Simon Lemalu
* Mike Blair
* Tom Smith
* Gregor Townsend
* Alex Dunbar
* Suka Hufanga
* Kevin Dalzell
* Barry Davies
* Liam Davies
* Kieran Murphy
* Alix Popham