Racing, Clermont, Montpellier, Toulon… it’s better to have a good heart when looking at the names of CA Brive’s future opponents in February. Before this weekend, Brive is in 11th place in the standings, doubled on Sunday by Stade Français, winner on the wire of Toulon. Before the trip against Racing, the only trip of the month, the question arises: is the great victory with the offensive bonus against Biarritz encouraging?
The balloons carried, the values of Brive found
One of the most interesting signs carried by this 33-10 victory is the attacking drive. The breakthroughs of Bituniyata and Lee, but also the strength in conquest and in the ball carried. “It’s something we worked on in training, but we weren’t performing.” notes hooker Thomas Acquier. On Saturday, he scored a try on the ball carried in the 75th minute. Among the four tests of Brive, two were planted in this style, that is to say half. “We were keen to show that we were capable of moving forward in this sector. We collected penalties, scored two tries. Afterwards, it was the cards that pushed us to do this, but it shows us that we are capable of doing it.” Obviously, the question is: will the Brivists be able to do it again against big teams? It’s all about trust in this niche. “It’s a weapon that has always been a weapon of Brive” explained in chorus Thomas Acquier and Jean-Baptiste Péjoine after the meeting.
Discipline, the best despite the cards
Regarding discipline, it is obviously insufficient if we look at the two yellow cards, including one for a bad gesture by Setareki Bituniyata on Gavin Stark. Obviously, this is also the case with the red card from Lucas Paulos, for this snub on Josh Tyrell just before half-time. “These gestures are not to be repeated”. Jean-Baptiste Péjoine agrees, but yet the coach of the back lines of Brive sees the best. “_We see it defensively and on the ground game, it’s pretty good. So, obviously, there are always faults, but if there are no faults, it means that we are not defending. But there is better and it’s going in the right direction.”_Is this finally proof of the serenity that reigns on the ground? Is this the work done with referee Pierre Brousset a few weeks ago? Here again, the test against Racing at the end of the week will provide a first element of analysis.
– Stephanie Para
Scorers in trouble, but not in crisis
There remains the black point of this Saturday evening: the 15 points lost by the two scorers Enzo Hervé and Thomas Laranjeira in conversions and penalties. With a setup not done because the pitch was frozen, the two scorers struggled to score on Saturday. Not confident, Thomas Laranjeira yields the goal to Enzo Hervé in the middle of the match, the Corrèze striker gives him the goal for the last penalty against the poles. “It’s a question of respect” underlined after the meeting the young opener, “Thomas is criticized, but he has won more games for CAB than he has lost” emphasizes lucid Enzo Hervé. However, these 15 points were not lacking in Brive to win, and this does not show a total lack of confidence. “These are the hazards of the striker, who has days with and days without” played down Enzo Hervé after the match, assuring that as good professionals, he and Thomas Laranjeira “were going to get back to work this week to have a better success rate”
Injured players back at the best time
Above all, we saw on Saturday the importance of the players who came back from their injury. This is the case of Sooty Fa’aso’o, who planted a powerful try. “Hayden Thompson-Stinger came back well too, and moved well.” the biarrots, emphasizes Jean-Baptiste Péjoine. Not to mention the good performance of the others, from Motu Matu to Nico Lee, injured during the first part of the season. “Stuart Olding came in 20 minutes too to allow alternating right foot and left foot” on dismissals and penalties. “As soon as we have ball carriers who advance, that we manage to win our shocks in front, that our conquest is clean and that we win penalties, it is easier to develop our game.“It is now up to the Brivists to do something about it against the leaders of the championship.