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G. Cros (6'), V. Abdaladze (24'), G. Masse (31'), A. Ricard (41'), A. Luc (62'), M. Sidobre (69')
Tries
B. Lafond (4'), B. Goutard (74')
J. Cooney (7', 24', 42', 63')
Conversions
F. Asquini (5'), M. Ortolan (75')
Penalties
F. Asquini (14')
This one didn’t so much reveal a new truth about CA Brive as confirm an old one: give them field position and numbers, and they’ll run you off the park. The home side are still a little loose around the edges, but when the game broke open they had too much strike power for a newly assembled Nissa Rugby still learning Pro D2’s unforgiving rhythms.
The broader frame matters here. Brive edged a nervy Round 1 at Amédée-Domenech and then loosened up at Agen, which pointed to a side settling combinations rather than cruising. Nissa, back in the second tier after an off-field saga and a heavy recruitment drive, smashed Béziers in Round 2 but cohesion and discipline were always going to be early markers. Those themes told again.
Where it turned wasn’t subtle. A straight red to Pablo Patilla on 24 minutes and a sin-bin for Inoke Nalaga right after the break left Nissa playing 14, then 13, against a backline stacked with finishers. Brive scored immediately through Vakh Abdaladze after the red, stretched the lead before half-time, and then struck again within seconds of the restart via Alexandre Ricard. From there it was scoreboard pressure and space: Nissa were chasing, Brive were picking them off.
The winners didn’t need to overcomplicate it. Their backfield was decisive: Aymeric Luc chewed up 183 metres with three clean breaks and a try, Geoffrey Cros finished sharply and punched holes all night, and Gatien Masse ran angles Nissa couldn’t square up when they were a man light. Maxime Sidobre’s snipe late on was a fair reflection of the game state by then. Up front, Ricard made 17 tackles and got his reward on the scoreboard; Sasha Gue and Yann Peysson were busy across the gain line and the contact. The lineout wasn’t flawless, but it was steadier than Nissa’s, which mattered given how often Brive kicked to the corners rather than the posts. John Cooney didn’t have to manage a chess match, just keep the tempo on front-foot ball and take the free points on offer from the tee.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
RED CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The numbers back up the eye test. Nissa actually saw enough ball and tackled hard — 49% possession, 152 tackles — but they bled nine clean breaks while making just one of their own, and a 71% lineout (17/24) strangled any chance of building pressure after they’d kicked penalties to touch. With a permanent red and a second-half yellow on the ledger, the defensive load became unsustainable. That they still found scores through Baptiste Lafond early and Boris Goutard late speaks to individual quality in the back three; off the bench, Iakopo Mapu brought some bite on carry, but by then Brive were dictating field position and collisions.
Does 38–17 flatter Brive? Only in the sense that 15 v 14 for nearly an hour, and 15 v 13 straight after half-time, will always exaggerate the gap. Brive also left points out there: 15 turnovers conceded and 11 penalties kept the door ajar longer than it needed to be, and they missed 23 tackles. But the gulf in incision was real. When the game opened, Brive’s strike runners hit the gain line with pace and support, while Nissa’s attacking shape never really recovered after the card chaos.
Individually for Nissa, Lafond grafted in defence with 13 tackles and beat five defenders, Goutard was lively from deep, and the back row worked. The problem areas are obvious and fixable: keep 15 on the field, tidy the lineout, and decide how to use the kicking battle to relieve pressure rather than hand back possession. That’s less about the big names they’ve signed and more about combinations and clarity. Grenoble next will ask serious questions of their set piece; they need answers quickly.
For Brive, the takeaway is encouraging and cautionary at once. Encouraging, because Luc looks in rhythm, Cros and Masse gave them a cutting edge they didn’t always show last season, and the pack had enough platform without needing dominance at scrum time. Cautionary, because they can’t rely on opposition discipline to open the gate, and their own accuracy — at the breakdown, in exit, around the lineout — still needs tightening if they’re serious about a Top 14 return. Three from three is a strong start; the standard they hold themselves to in cleaner, 15-on-15 contests will tell us more.
