When a cycle ends, we like to end on a good note. A few days before Christmas, the Brive players offered the gift of another victory at the Stadium. But the little extra gift is missing. The first semester was good, now let’s move on to the second.
For this match, Brive greatly modifies its starting XV against the SUA with the return of its executives. Agen remains in the continuity of its last matches with only four changes to challenge the CAB.
First period: Brive is hooked
Brive wastes no time in this meeting to take the lead. Agen makes a mistake in front and Brive is positioned 5 meters away with a throw-in. We feel the classic combination coming and it’s here! Issam Hamel finds Retief Marais, the maul forms and it’s Simon-Pierre Chauvac who scores (7-0, 5′).
Agen tries to react but comes across a well-established defense. The minutes pass and the playing conditions deteriorate. Rain and hail fell during the warm-up, now only the rain has returned. We know that Brive likes to dominate up front but it happens that this pack of forwards is also dominated with the same weapons. After a foul in the scrum, the CAB also made a mistake on a maul and there was Agen just 5 meters from the Brive goal. Brive tries to resist but makes borderline mistakes like that of Marcel Van der Merwe or that of Hugo Verdu. The Brivists are doing well without cardboard but be careful. And the sanction is immediate. The forwards fix the defense in the axis, under the posts. Spaces and excess are at large. Billy Searle plays behind his back for Franck Pourteau who shifts Loris Tolot for the Agenais try (7-5, 20′). This try restores confidence to the Agenians while the Brivists lose several balls like this clearance at the foot of Verdu blocked or the not straight throw from Hamel. Erwan Dridi tries to revitalize his team and plays on foot. The winger recovers the ball with some success. Behind, the support is there and progressing well. Until the cynical mistake of Santiago Socino who receives a yellow card (25′). The Agenians do not understand the sanction and ask why Verdu was not booked for the same type of fault a few minutes earlier. What follows will not calm the opposing staff. Once alerted on his wing but without success, Dridi is again called upon to the opposite. The excess is well played with Mathis Ferté who shifts Tevita Railevu who scores in the corner (12-5, 28′).
No time to savor that you have to start defending. And Brive stupidly made a mistake, offering 3 points to Agen and Pourteau (12-8, 32′). Stoppage time in this match with the concussion suffered by Hayam El Bibouji, following a tackle on Timilai Rokoduru. As Socino has a card, there are no more valid hookers left. Deficiency rule or not? Ultimately no after a few moments of waiting and above all Agen is back at 15 shortly after. This end of the period is struggling to get carried away. In the scrum, the duel turns to Brive’s advantage, the mistakes accumulate and Hans Lombard-Buret receives a yellow for collective work (38′). Brive opts for the throw-in but the throw is kept, it is hardly usable and what’s more, behind, Brive is penalized. The SUA launches a final attack in the Brivist camp but it ends with a forward attack. Brive leads at the break but Agen hangs on. The CAB must be more precise in concluding its actions.
Second period: Brive wastes the offensive bonus
It took five minutes to see Brive score a try in the first half. Even less will be needed in the second half. While Brive is in attack on the Agen 40 meters. The defense is in place but one player will take care of everything. Curwin Bosch plays the play he needs to play with pass faking and interval acceleration created. He hooks the last defender and goes to score in the middle of the posts (19-8, 42′).
If the start of the period is good, things will deteriorate very quickly behind. For the succession of faults, Courtney Lawes receives a yellow card (45′). In the process, Iban Etcheverry takes advantage of a movement that is a little too axial from Railevu to pass out wide and score the try (19-15, 47′). The bad ones continue with yellow for Timilai Rokoduruguilty of a dangerous tackle on Lasha Macarashvili (48′). While Agen is at 15, Brive finds itself again at 13. A very bad habit this season. Agen is very close to taking advantage of its double numerical superiority. On a combination in touch, Socino accelerates in the defense and tries to pass but the passing line is cut by Taniela Sadrugu who clearly avoids a try (49′). Back in the Agen camp, Dridi takes a high tackle. Bosch passes the penalty (22-15, 53′). Brive tries to break the rhythm and keep the clock ticking. We empty the bench on the Brive side but it doesn’t really bear fruit right away with the fault of new arrival Guillaume Galletier. Pourteau leaves the SUA in the match (22-18, 58′). Agen will not have fully taken advantage of its double numerical superiority to, for example, go ahead on the scoreboard. Brive pushes his opponent to make a mistake in the melee. Little by little, the team gets closer to the goal and has a touch 5 meters away. Still the same? When it works, why change? Benjamin Boudou finds Retief Marais, the maul is formed and it is the hooker who scores (29-18, 65′).
In the process, the domination in scrum continues and Brive obtains a penalty. The team chooses to take cover before seeking the offensive bonus. At 45 meters, Bosch passes the penalty with a little success on his last two attempts since the post helped to bring in the ball (32-18, 68′). Things are starting to get tense between the two teams at the end of the match. The temperature rises as the CAB misses several opportunities by losing ammunition on the sidelines. The clock is ticking and it is difficult to see how Brive could get the offensive bonus, being more than 60 meters from the opposing goal. On a broken arm, we play quickly towards the outside. Mathis Ferté overflows on his wing and finds support inside. The Brive players approach the 22 Agenians and sweep the entire width of the field. Intervals are found and Brive is only 5 meters away. The forwards make a series of attempts but they are pushed back. We then try out wide but the ball is lost. Agen moves up the field but inside the Brivist camp, a forward is committed, which means the end of the match. On the Brive side, we are calling for a voluntary advance from Searle on Verdu but we will not return to the action. Brive wins its 10th victory of the season, its 8th at home. But there remains this taste of unfinished business with this offensive bonus not recovered at the end of the match.
Technical sheet
Brive : 4 tries from Chauvac (5′), Railevu (28′), Bosch (42′) and Boudou (65′); 3 conversions (5′, 42′, 65′) and 2 penalties (53′, 68′) from Bosch; 2 yellow cards for Lawes (45′) and Rokoduru (48′)
1 Chauvac (55′ Fraissenon) – 2 Hamel (55′ Boudou) – 3 Van der Merwe (55′ Coria Marchetti) – 4 Ratuva (55′ Usarraga) – 5 Timani (42′ Mikautadze) – 6 Marais – 7 Lawes (Cap ) – 8 Sadrug (55′ Warren-Vosayaco) – 9 Verdu (62′ Carbonneau) – 10 Bosch – 11 Railevu (61′ Dridi) – 12 Pimienta (74′ Verdu) – 13 Rokoduru – 14 Dridi (55′ Galletier) – 15 Ferté
Agen : 2 tries from Tolot (20′) and Etcheverry (47′); 1 conversion (47′) and 2 penalties (32′, 58′) from Pourteau; 2 yellow cards for Socino (25′) and Lombard-Buret (38′)
1 Lombard-Buret (57′ Guion) – 2 Socino – 3 Farrance (28′-67′ Macharashvili) – 4 Olmstead (63′ Demotte) – 5 Demotte (48′ Eissmann) – 6 Lebian (Cap) – 7 Fineanganofo (58 ‘ Bonnet) – 8 Gayraud – 9 Maunder (63′ Idjellidaine) – 10 Searle – 11 Etcheverry – 12 Garrigues (MT Belan) – 13 Ramoka – 14 Tolot (25′ El Bibouji) (33′ Guion) (34′ Tolot) (65’ Martins) – 15 Pourteau
In brief
Better in offensive content than during the reception of Béziers but Brive must correct several faults. Before talking about the flaws, let’s talk about the qualities. CAB pockets its 10th victory of the season and will finish the first leg in 2nd place in the standings. We had to work hard to win this eye-catching Agen team. It was necessary not to take the water while being double numerically inferior. Without being totally electrifying as soon as he touches the ball, Curwin Bosch gains momentumgains confidence and his essay is his signature. But there remains this lack of precision, of patience in the last meters to conclude and get this offensive bonus. There are still many areas of work to be corrected during the return phase. We will see in 2025.
Images : Canal+Sport
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