Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club based in

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the aggl ...

, 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 The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, defeating

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

include:

Amédée Domenech Amédée Domenech (May 3, 1933, Narbonne – September 21, 2003 Brive-la-Gaillarde) was a French rugby union Prop (rugby union), prop nicknamed ''Le Duc'' (the Duke) who played for Racing Club Vichy, RC Vichy between 1954 and 1955. After one year ...

, 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 Michel Yachvili (born 25 September 1946) is a former French rugby union footballer. His father was a Georgian POW during the World War II in France, and his son Grégoire chose to play for the Georgian national team. He began his career play ...

, the father of

Dimitri Yachvili Dimitri Yachvili Markarian (born 19 September 1980) is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scoring 373 points. With them he playe ...

, also wore the black and white jersey. Their home ground is the 14,759-capacity Stade Amédée-Domenech and the club colours are

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

History

The club was created on 15 March 1910. Before the Second World War, Brive changed from

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

but returned to union after the war. It played regularly in the First Division, and established itself as the stronghold of rugby in

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

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 Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, ...

Stade de Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

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 The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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 Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

. 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 The Challenge Yves du Manoir was a rugby union club competition that was played in France between 1931 and 2003 under different names. It is named after former player Yves du Manoir. History The Challenge Yves du Manoir was officially created on ...

, defeating Pau 12–6. The following season, they made it to the final of the

where they faced the

from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

. 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 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

. 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 Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. They came close to capturing back-to-back titles, losing by just one point, 19–18 at

Parc Lescure Stade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It was the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Since 2011, it has also hosted matches of Top 14 rugby team Union Bordeaux Bègles. Until 2001, the stadium's ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. 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 The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

, but they lost to Pau. In 2009, after taking the sixth place of the Championship, the Black and White could participate in the

, but the competition was difficult for them, against the Europeans champions

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

, Llanelli Scarlets and

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

. After difficulties and a relegation to the second division in 2012, Brive returned to the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

the following year, after defeating Pau.

Honours

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

** Champions (1):

** ''Runners-up (1):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

'' * French championship Top 14 ** ''Runners-up (4):

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

'' *

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

** Champions (1): 1957 ** ''Runners-up (2):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

'' * Promotion play-offs Final/ Top 14 Access Match ** Champions (2): 2012–13, 2018–19 *

** Champions (1): 1996 ** ''Runners-up (2): 1963, 1974'' * French Cup ** ''Runners-up (1): 2000''

Finals results

Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup

French championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

French Cup

Current standings

Current squad

The Brive squad for the 2024–25 season is:

Espoirs squad

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 Lisandro Arbizu (born September 29, 1971 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He plays at fly-half or inside centre. He began playing for the local traditional club Belgrano Athletic Club and was one of the first Argentine play ...

* Christian Martin * Agustin Figuerola * Pablo Henn * Alex Moreno * Eduardo Simone * Tim Donnelly *

Peter FitzSimons Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...

* 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 Terry Bouhraoua (born 29 August 1987) is a French rugby union and rugby union sevens player who plays for the France national rugby sevens team. His position is Scrum half (rugby union), scrum-half. Bouhraoua was born in Châteaudun, France. H ...

* Russlan Boukerou * Jacques Boussuge *

Hugues Briatte Hugues Briatte (born 11 March 1990) is a French rugby union player. His position is Number 8 and he currently plays for CA Brive in the Rugby Pro D2. He began his career with Stade Français, before moving to CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive ...

* 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 *

* Yves Donguy *

Thibault Dubarry Thibault Dubarry (born 24 November 1987 in Chartres, France) is a French professional rugby union player. He plays at Number 8 for Racing Métro in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played i ...

* 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 Alexis Palisson (born 9 September 1987) is a French rugby union footballer. He plays as a fullback (rugby union), fullback and wing (rugby union), wing. He is tall and weighs . Career He currently plays for US Colomiers, Colomiers in the Fre ...

* 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 *

* 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 (rugby union, born 1971), Tom Smith * Gregor Townsend * Alex Dunbar * Suka Hufanga * Kevin Dalzell * Barry Davies (rugby union, born 1981), Barry Davies * Liam Davies (rugby union), Liam Davies * Kieran Murphy (rugby union), Kieran Murphy * Alix Popham

References

External links

*
CA Brive
Official website
Unofficial fan's site

profile on Rugby15 {{Authority control CA Brive, Rugby union clubs in France, Brive Rugby clubs established in 1910 1910 establishments in France Heineken Cup champions, Brive Sport in Corrèze