Brive kept up their impressive unbeaten run with a comprehensive bonus point victory over fellow French outfit Agen to stay top of their Pool 5 and put themselves in pole position for a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

The home side had won all four of their previous games in Pool 5 and their final game against Sale Sharks on English soil already looks like it will decide which of them qualifies for the knockout stages of the tournament.

 

Sale, who play Spanish champions CR La Vila at the Estadio de Rugby on Saturday afternoon, will be determined to get a bonus point victory in Spain to set up winner takes all clash against Brive at Edgeley Park next week.

 

Brive were never in really trouble against an Agen side which had nothing to play for but pride and racked up seven tries, with full back Julien Caminati crossing for two tries of his own, at the Stadium Municipal Domenech.

 

Prop Alexandre Barozzi, hooker Virgile Lacombe, wing Guillaume Namy, replacement Clement Marienval all crossed for scores and Brive were awarded a penalty try towards the end of a one sided contest.

 

Brive were 19-6 ahead at half-time and never surrendered their lead and were dominant against an Agen side which did manage a solitary try of their own by full back Belisario Agulla just after the break.

 

But during the second-half the home side ran riot and scored 31 points to get the maximum five points from the game and put them on 23 points at the top of the table and eight points clear of the Sharks who have a game in hand.

 

The win for Brive followed on from Bayonne going top of Pool 4 a day earlier as they beat fellow Top 14 outfit Bordeaux-Begles 12-6 in a battle of the boots at Stade Andre Moga.

 

Outside half Benjamin Boyet kicked two penalty goals in each half to guide Bayonne to their fourth group win and keep the pressure firmly on London Wasps in the race for quarter-final qualification as the Pool 4 winner.

 

Replacement Emmanuel Saubusse did manage to land two penalties for the home side but it wasn’t enough as Bordeaux-Begles dropped out of contention.