After its victory last week against Pau, for its first effective meeting in the Challenge Cup, the CAB plays this Friday evening at 9 p.m. in Edinburgh. And the Scots have something to impress. “They are 1st in the championship, recalls Brive coach Goderdzi Shvelidze. They have players with a lot of experience. And almost 85% of players who have passed or are currently playing for the Scotland team.”
It’s a team that will make us run” Steevy Cerqueira
The Brivistes therefore took the time via videos during this week to see them play. And the fact is that we will have to run fast for the second row Steevy Cerqueira: “it plays much faster (…) In the keys they make very fast keys. They really play wide. This is a team that really likes to play the ball. So suddenly it’s a team that will make us run”. Scrum-half Enzo Sanga said the same thing: “It’s a team that puts a lot of rhythm. They really play a lot. That leaves very little downtime. There are a lot of high-intensity sequences.”
Less pressure in the European Cup
But to give itself wings the CAB, undermined by its performance in the league looks back on the victory against Pau last week. A victory that boosted Steevy Cerqueira: “We relaxed a bit at the end of the match. It’s a shame because we had several opportunities to score on the ball. But hey! It gave me confidence”. Above all, better discipline changed everything. It’s immediately easier when the pressure is not there. “It’s not the top 14, explains the second line. The Top 14 there is a little more pressure compared to the classification. So that made it possible to play really without pressure, to try things that perhaps we would not have tried in the Top 14″.
New tests before leaving
On the other hand, there remains a big uncertainty: 14 Brivistes tested positive for covid this week. Corn it does not change anything and we should not make an excuse in the event of a defeat in Scotland. “Unfortunately, we’re getting used to it, says Enzo Sanga. All the guys have been training in the group for a while and we have to deal with the unexpected (…) We have to do the job, it’s our job too. We are professionals. It’s true that it’s not easy but it’s not an excuse for the group”.Another salvo of tests takes place this Friday morning before taking the plane. But the results will not be known until the end of the afternoon, before the match, which should start at 9 p.m. As a result, a maximum of players are on the trip to compensate for any new contaminations.