The shock at the top of this thirteenth day of Pro D2 turned to Brive's advantage, this Friday evening at Amédée-Doménech, at the end of a more than close match. At the end of the suspense, the Corréziens won 15-10 against Béziers and returned to Grenoble at the top of Pro D2.
Brivistes and Biterrois did not want to let anything go. This Friday evening, between two teams in good shape in this championship, the Corréziens – who remained on three victories in a row – wanted to confirm in their fortress of Amédée-Doménech, in which they have not yet lost a single match. Opposite, the Héraultais – who had four successes in a row – arrived in Corrèze with the ambition of overtaking their evening opponent and getting back on the Pro D2 podium.
And with such a display between the second and the fourth, everything could suggest a more than lively match. After five minutes of play, the Briviste ball went to the in-goal, well led by hooker Lucas Da Silva. Curwin Bosch misses the transformation to the left of the posts, a constant which will be confirmed throughout the match for the evening scorers (5-0, 5').
?’??? ?????́ ud83dudcaa
In a match that was tense until the last minute, the Black & White scored a 4th success in a row.
A great operation in the ranking before a trip to the Alps. pic.twitter.com/pLbUoYIej2— CA Brive Rugby (@CABCLRUGBY) https://twitter.com/CABCLRUGBY/status/1865128549654331787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But behind, there is dead calm. Hand faults accumulate on both sides and neither Brivistes nor Biterrois take advantage of their opponent's indiscipline. Samuel Marques misses a penalty 40 meters from the poles, off-center on the right. The second period can only offer more spectacle.
Also read: relive the short Briviste success on home soil against Béziers in live conditions
Béziers comes back strong after returning from the locker room
If Brive had got off to the best start in the first half, it was Béziers who came back better at the start of the second half. All powerful, Yannick Arroyo slides the ball across the goal line, and finally unlocks the Biterrois counter in this game. Samuel Marques converts, and here the Héraultais are in front on the scoreboard (5-7, 45').
In the process, the scrum half added three additional points after a new penalty conceded by the Brivistes (5-10, 47'). The CAB suffers, but will turn its back before responding.
Brive goes on the attack again and bends the Béziers defense
If Hugo Verdu, who entered the game after the premature exit of Léo Carbonneau due to injury, misses a penalty which is well within his reach, the Corréziens move forward again. By pushing hard, helped by the multiple faults of Béziers, the CAB will end up going for the test thanks to the effort of its pillar Marcel Van der Merwe in the corner.
The triple penalty for the Héraultais, since Pierre Gayraud receives a yellow card and Hugo Verdu passes the transformation completely in the corner. Brive then goes back in front (12-10, 55').
Despite the numerical superiority, the locals did not score any points but registered three additional points thanks to the foot of Hugo Verdu (15-10, 71'). Béziers will no longer manage to be dangerous – while Samuel Marques misses a new penalty and Gabin Lorre a drop – and Curwin Bosch misses a penalty from 55 meters which could allow the Brivists to deprive the Héraultais of the defensive bonus.
Thanks to this new success, the fourth in a row, Brive returns to level with Grenoble – who lost at Mont-de-Marsan – with 42 points and will challenge the leader at the Stade des Alpes next weekend for a new duel at the summit.
Béziers, for its part, is marking time after four victories in a row but will console itself with the defensive bonus point. The Héraultais will also have a lot to do on the next day by hosting Montauban, another direct competitor for the final stages.
