European Challenge Cup, round six: Brive easy - Top 14 side
progress to quarter-final
23 January
2009
Brive
29 (10) Overmach Rugby Parma 13 (6)
Three
tries in 15 second-half minutes ensured Brive dispatched
Overmach Rugby Parma and secured the necessary bonus point
to guarantee a quarter-final tie in the European Challenge
Cup.
Their
29-13 win means Brive will finish top of Pool 4 whatever
results follow over the weekend, but the French side didn’t
have it all their own way on a cold and wet night at the
Stade Amédée Domenech.
Indeed,
the home side were 6-0 down within 10 minutes as former
Glasgow player Barry Irving kicked the Italians into an
early lead. Memories of Brive’s 34-29 away defeat lingered
as the visitors threw everything they had into upsetting the
Top 14 side, but slowly the hosts managed to regain control
and exert some pressure of their own.
English
fly-half Andy Goode got them on the board with a 17th-minute
penalty and they went ahead on the half hour when hooker
Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux touched down between the posts
following a neat break from scrum-half Arnaud Pic.
Goode
duly converted to give Brive a 10-6 half-time advantage, but
any thoughts of a serene second period were swiftly brushed
aside when Parma lock Brad Taylor went over just four
minutes after the restart, with Irving adding the extras to
put the Italians back into a 13-10 lead.
Goode
was replaced by Fabrice Estebanez shortly after but Brive
upped the intensity and ensured their safe passage with a
burst of attacking rugby which resulted in their three
second-half tries, and the crucial attacking bonus point.
Replacement scrum-half Jean-Baptiste
Péjoine took a quick penalty before setting
up Wales’ Barry Davies for the first of those tries after 53
minutes. The former Llanelli man added the conversion as
Brive edged 17-13 ahead, and there was further British
influence in the next score when former Saracens man Ben
Johnston went over four minutes later after successfully
racing on to a kick through.
This time Davies missed with the conversion,
but he was on target again when international winger Alexis
Palisson scored try number four for the home side with 12
minutes remaining after an excellent miss-pass by Estebanez.
All that remains now for Brive is to see
whether Worcester get the bonus-point home win against
Padova in Pool 3 to deny them a home quarter-final as one of
the best four group winners.
|
|
Brive |
Overmach Rugby Parma |
|
Tries |
Bonrepaux, Davies,
Johnston, Palisson |
Taylor |
|
Conversions |
Goode, Davies (2) |
Irving |
|
Penalties |
Goode |
Irving (2) |
|
Drop-goals |
|
|
European Challenge Cup tables
|
