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Brive have officially been relegated from the Top 14 to the Pro D2. The French club’s away defeat against Stade Français in Paris confirms the club cannot finish higher than 14th position.
Brive will now trade places with the winner of the Pro D2. That team is to be either Grenoble or Perpignan, this season’s finalists. They are to meet in the final in Toulouse next weekend.
The loser of this match will host either Oyonnax or Stade Français in a relegation / promotion play-off with the winner playing in the Top 14 and the loser in the Pro D2.
With one round of the regular season remaining Brive have 32 points while the 13th placed Oyonnax have 39. Stade Français are in 12th position with 42 points. Should they win in the final round they will be safe. Oyonnax require a Parisian defeat in addition to winning themselves.
Safe from relegation are Agen. The club’s miraculous means of avoiding relegation is down more to smart planning than the strength of the roster. Huge credit in this regard goes to former Pumas tighthead Mauricio Reggiardo. Among many smart decisions was moving Argentine hooker Facundo Bosch to flanker for the vital fixture against Oyonnax.
This weekend saw Agen downing a struggling Clermont 27-17. It takes the clubs to 46 points, meaning the club cannot be relegated. Oyonnax also won, downing Lyon 39-18 to claim a bonus point win.
Stade Français’s 30-22 win over Brive at the Stade Jean-Bouin should mean the Parisians are safe. Next weekend Oyonnax and Stade Français both play on the road, facing Castres and La Rochelle respectively. Neither side is expected to win.
Playing in the win in Paris on Saturday were Americas players Sergio Parisse and Ramiro Herrera. The Argentine-Italian scored a try while the Patagonian prop came on as a 55th minute replacement.
Brive’s drop to the Pro D2 does not have immediate implications for Americas players. The club presently does not have players from the Americas on its playing roster. In the past it has has been the home of players including Canadians Scott Franklin and John Tait, Eagles Kevin Dalzell and Taku Ngwenya and Pumas Horacio Agulla, Lisando Arbizu, Agustín Figuerola, Pablo Henn, and Eduardo Simone.
