Valence-Romans and Brive do not play the same part of the Pro D2 ranking and in view of the ranking, this seems an unbalanced meeting. But a match is not played on paper but on the pitch. Let's hope that the CAB will have chased away the ghosts of the past to hope to achieve a result.
Last season, this trip brought a good crisis at the start of the season to the CAB. It would be Nice not to relive such a situation. But the VRDR would like to cast a bad spell on its opponent again and leave with a victory which would do a lot of good.
Review of the season
Valence-Romans : 16th with 11 points (2 wins, 0 draws, 6 losses)
Brive : 2nd with 24 points (5 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses)
A year ago, Valence-Romans returned to Pro D2 alongside Dax. The two promotions held their own and offered great performances. But we all know it, it is very often the second year which is the most difficult, without the wave of confidence of the climb. For its first day, Valence-Romans travels to Biarritz and the match is complicated but in ten minutes, the visitors are back with two tries. Unfortunately, there will be a two-point gap until the end. Frustrating defeats will be the hallmark of Valence-Romans at the start of the season. Last season, VRDR started strong at home but this year, it cracked at the end of the match. Facing Dax, Valence-Romans has a three-point lead with less than ten minutes to go and will fall short by 3 points at the final whistle. Plus, the match point in numerical superiority. A week later, Valence-Romans leads by 3 points with 5 minutes remaining. Will this be enough? No, still not! Béziers will first equalize before scoring the winning try at the siren and depriving the locals of a defensive bonus. Want another example? In Colomiers, thanks to two penalties, Valence-Romans is two points 5 minutes from the end. But a Columérin test just before the siren validates the victory of Colomiers which wins by 7 points against Valence-Romans. Nightmarish start to the season for the Drôme who experienced 4 defeats whereas with success, it could just as easily have been 4 victories. But luck will change against Agen. We will have to suffer at the end of the match to resist the return of the Agenais but that's it: the first victory of the season! After a stressful end to the match, Valence-Romans was in contact with Grenoble at the start of the last quarter of an hour before breaking down and conceding 3 tries in the last ten minutes. In a scorers duel, Valence-Romans and Montauban will have a hard time letting go. The locals take a 9-point lead with a quarter of an hour to go but the visitors come back to 3 points. Then again 6 points ahead 5 minutes from the end. And again a breakdown at the end of the match with a conceded try which gave Montauban the away victory at the last minute. Valence-Romans suffers so much frustration that a victory is needed. It is not easy to obtain but it is obtained on the Nice side, not without trembling at the end of the match. If Valence-Romans wants to save itself, it is imperative to resolve these end-of-match problems and know how to kill the match when possible. Brive also experienced absences at the end of the match. It promises!
The classification gives an image that the field does not give. Brive is placed at the top of the ranking, having even been first in Pro D2 twice. At this level, not much to complain about. In relation to the game and collective production, the feeling is not necessarily the same. At home, Brive does the job, winning all its matches. Against Oyonnax, Brive is off to a good start to its season. In a poster which could be that of a final phase match, the Brive players appear to be in the best position to achieve this first victory. Facing Aurillac, Brive was hooked and jostled for half an hour before showing off its game and seeking an offensive bonus. When you start a block with the leader's reception, it's not that simple. Brive is moved again but shows offensive realism to take the score and not let it go for another improved victory. With these two improved results, we say to ourselves that the reception of Dax will not pose any problems. More than we can imagine. Dax reproduces the Biarritz game but he makes it happen. Brive chases the score and by insisting, manages to take the lead 10 minutes from the end. But that was without counting on the match point for Dax who let the victory slip away for a penalty which ended to the right of the Brive posts. Brive refuels (or almost) at home but the problem comes from outside. However, it started well with a victory at Soyaux-Angoulême. Brive scored several tries but left too many points to definitively kill the match. The Angoumoisins enter the match, will return to the match and will shake the CAB until the end which locks the victory on a last defense. In Nevers, the duel is the one who will make the fewest mistakes. At the hour mark, things were going well for Brive but Brive came out of the match and let the victory slip away with a final penalty. On the Mont de Marsan side, Brive existed for a quarter of an hour before exploding and letting the Mons dominate. In difficult conditions, Brive mastered his match in Provence. Great start to the match but discipline is starting to fail the Brive players. We have to resist in numerical inferiority but Brive cannot kill the match. Lost in the 2nd period, Provence wakes up in the last ten minutes. A first try before another to achieve an unexpected victory which is good for one team and bad for the other. Brive therefore does not have the same face at the Stadium and far from its facilities. To claim to go up, you will have to know how to take it outside. Will this be in Drôme? We'll see.
Strong men
Dorian Marco-Pena hopes to have found the right tools to challenge the Brivist alignment and offer as much ammunition as possible to his team. Ryan McCauley is like a fish to water in Pro D2. Arriving from the Western Force, the Australian established himself as the mainstay of the Drôme pack last season and this role has not changed this season. He discovered Pro D2 last season and had a great season. Axel Bruchet moves into the 3rd line and the player still has plenty of room for improvement. To win against Brive, we will have to make it happen on the foot. Lucas Méret must be perfect in his handling of the game against CAB to achieve victory. Author of 12 tries last season, Mosese Mawalu hasn't really started this season. Perhaps the awakening facing the CAB?
Saved against Dax, Courtney Lawes is back and will bring all her experience to her team which lacks control, especially away from home. In the absence of Ross Moriarty, Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco has a card to play. In a different style from the Welsh, the Australian must bring speed to his ball handling. For it to roll behind, you need a synchronized hinge. Léo Carbonneau needs to clean up his game to make the work of his teammates easier. Author of a try and a stupid yellow card, Erwan Dridi is back and must continue to perform well on the pitch, while controlling himself. Author of 12 tries last season, Mathis Ferté has somewhat lost the flame this season with only a double at Soyaux-Angoulême. Brive needs its will-o’-the-wisp in attack.
Results and confrontations
Valence-Romans (at home) : DVD
Dax (29-32), Béziers (22-29), Agen (30-25), Montauban (31-32)
Brive (away) : VDDD
Soyaux-Angoulême (25-28), Nevers (27-26), Mont de Marsan (33-11), Provence (23-20)
The results of the two clubs are identical but not necessarily ideal depending on the objective of each. We will have to obtain victories to make the results better and more adequate for the final objective.
Valence-Romans is experiencing close matches at home but for the moment, the results are negative with 3 defeats in 4 matches. Against Agen, VRDR has so far won its only victory at home. Brive started well by winning at Soyaux-Angoulême but behind, things are going much less well with 3 defeats in a row often with a disciplinary problem.
The history between the two clubs is very recent and dates back to last season. The balance sheet is balanced with victory for each team at home. At the Georges Pompidou stadium, things went particularly badly for Brive who took a big slap: 45-10.
Here is the composition of the two teams for the Valence-Romans – Brive match (kick-off at 7 p.m., referee: Mr Benjamin Hernandez)
For Valencia-Novels : 1 Aleo – 2 Marco-Pena – 3 Vial – 4 McCauley – 5 Goumat – 6 Bruchet (Cap) – 7 Real – 8 Girlando – 9 Lhusero – 10 Meret – 11 Mawalu – 12 Marrou – 13 Pauvert – 14 Rozière – 15 Moura
Substitutes : 16 Chouteau – 17 Deligny – 18 O'Shea – 19 Vachon – 20 Roux – 21 Rodor – 22 Neiceru – 23 Milasinovich
Absent : Bouldoire (wrist), Minguillon (thigh), Royer, Humbert (foot), Goze (thigh), Vargas (calf), Bholi (thigh), Guillomot (calf), Worth (thigh), Vachon (sick)
For Brive : 1 Chauvac – 2 Da Silva – 3 Van der Merwe – 4 Lawes (Cap) – 5 Ratuva – 6 Marais – 7 Maximin – 8 Warren-Vosayaco – 9 Carbonneau – 10 Bosch – 11 Dridi – 12 Johnson – 13 Shvelidze – 14 Ferté – 15 Zeno
Substitutes : 16 Hamel – 17 Fraissenon – 18 Mikautadze – 19 Malaterre – 20 Sadrugu – 21 Verdu – 22 Lefranc – 23 Coria Marchetti
Absent : To consult the status of the CA Brive infirmary, do not hesitate to go to the infirmary tab
Image : VRDR
