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Brive have been relegated from the Top 14. The team’s 16-13 home defeat to Castres on Saturday confirmed that the team is bottom for the 2022-2023 season. Brive will compete in the 2023-2024 Pro D2 as a result.
Relegation is heartbreaking for players and supporters. For the club it means an instant change of purpose. Brive must now focus their efforts on putting together a player roster to earn promotion back to the Top 14.
The club made efforts to improve their roster during the season. This saw England u20 and Wales test player Ross Moriarty recently sign. Earlier on in the season Brive signed Nicolás Sánchez from Stade Français.
Sánchez was excellent last weekend and looked to have Brive well-placed against Castres. He landed two penalties and a conversion to put Brive 13-6 ahead. Castres fought back to win the match. Fellow Pumas Rodrigo Bruni and Lucas Paulos also featured.
Paulos is reported to be close to finalizing a move to Castres next season. Bruni is expected to stay at Brive while ARN has learned that Sánchez is expected to reunite with Tomás Cubelli at the Miami Sharks in Major League Rugby (MLR). Former Los Pumas 7’s player Axel Muller is far from clear. Colombian Andrés Zafra is leaving Brive to play for a Pro D2 rival.
The future at the highest level is unclear for all. Michael Cheika’s plans for Rugby World Cup 2023 do include some of the Brive Argentines. Pressure is on though; Argentine options have improved across all positions compared to where they were four years ago.
