Valerio Bernabo

CA Brive

Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin are a French rugby union team founded in 1904 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech (capacity 15,000).

History

The club was established on 12th October 1912. Prior to 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 23rd 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 two other clubs have lost more finals without winning one than them (ASM Clermont Auvergne 7, 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. So far, they are one of only two clubs to win the European Cup without ever winning the domestic championship, the other club being the Northampton Saints.

On 22nd 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 relegated to the second division in 2000. They bounced back in 2003 and have struggled ever since in the lower echelons of the league table, except in 2004 when they managed to qualify for the playoffs.

Players Past and Present

Brive have bred some 30 players who went on to play for France. Among them, Amédée Domenech, nicknamed "Le Duc"" ("the Duke") who played there in the 50s and 60s, and gave his name to the stadium shortly after his death in 2003. Prolific flanker Olivier Magne, fly-half Christophe Lamaison or Alain Penaud , number-eight Jean-Luc Joinel and hooker Michel Yachvili, the father of Dimitri Yachvili, also wore the CAB jersey. Argentinian fly-half Lisandro Arbizu and powerful prop Christian Martin also played for them. Two French internationals are currently playing for Brive, fullback Alexis Palisson and Arnaud Méla. But the club has become home to many Pacific Islanders including the Fijian Norman Ligairi, the Samoa and Gloucester legend Terry Fanolua and Tongan Sufanga Hufanga. They recently signed Welsh International, Barry Davies from the Llanelli Scarlets and Andy Goode from the Leicester Tigers.

Finals results

French championship

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
23 May 1965	SU Agen	CA Brive	15-8	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	28.758
21 May 1972	AS Béziers	CA Brive	9-0	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	31.161
18 May 1975	AS Béziers	CA Brive	13-12	Parc des Princes, Paris	39.991
1 June 1996	Stade Toulousain	CA Brive	20-13	Parc des Princes, Paris	48.162

Heineken Cup

Date	Winner	Runner-Up	Score	Stadium	Spectators
25 January 1997	CA Brive	Leicester Tigers	28-9	Arms Park, Cardiff	41.664
31 January 1998	Bath Rugby	CA Brive	19-18	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	36.500