CA Brive

Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition.

Brive is a historical member of French rugby union, being one of the clubs that spent the most seasons in the best French domestic competition. "''Les Coujous''" also won the Heineken Cup in 1997 as they defeated Leicester Tigers in the final in a glorious 28-9 win.

Many great players, both French and foreign, played for the club currently headed by Simon Gillham, and the youth academy is known to be one of the best in France. For example, Brive had in its rows some players who went on to play for France. Among them, 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 established on 12 October 1912. 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 May 21 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 5). That year however, they won the famed 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 the 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 agonizingly 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 and 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 to 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 in second division in 2012, Brive returned to the Top 14 the following year, after defeating Pau.

Honours

* Heineken Cup
** Champions (1): 1996–97
** ''Runners-up (1): 1997–98''

* French Rugby Union Championship
** ''Runners-up (4): 1964–65, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1995–96''

* French Second Division
** Champions (1): 1956–57
** ''Runners-up (2): 2012–13, 2018–19''

* 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''

* Coupe de France:
** ''Runners-up (1): 2000''

Finals results

Heineken Cup

French Rugby Union Championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Coupe de France

Current standings

Current squad

The Brive squad for the 2022–23 season:

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