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Brive face a stern challenge to their unbeaten start in Pool 3 against Bucharest Wolves on Saturday. - 05/12/2013 12:04
Brive face a stern challenge to their unbeaten start in Pool 3 against Bucharest Wolves on Saturday.
The Wolves convincingly saw off Calvisano 37-15 in their last outing, just a week after Brive could only draw against the Italians. And the Romanian side proved a match for Newcastle Falcons in the opening round before ultimately suffering a late 13-12 loss.
Now head coach Lynn Howells knows his team must make the most of their last home game of the pool at Stade Arcul de Triumf if they are to have any chance of progressing.
Much of their hopes will rest on the international players who made up the majority of the Romania team that registered significant wins over both Canada and Tonga last month. Among those is centre Florian Vlaicu, who scored 27 points in the last round against Calvisano.
But Brive have a ruthlessly efficient defence, with the highest tackle success rate (94 per cent) in the Amlin Challenge Cup so far this season.
They have only lost one of their last 10 games in this tournament and have a match-winner in Thomas Laranjeira. The centre scored 18 points in the previous round as Brive twice came from behind to defeat Newcastle and move top of the pool.
Since that victory, Brive have beaten Toulouse and taken a losing bonus point from Clermont-Auvergne in the Top 14 but, perhaps crucially, have lost to relegation rivals Oyonnax and Biarritz Olympique in recent weeks.
Match facts
Brive have lost just one of their last 10 games in the competition (W8, D1, L1).
Bucharest’s win in the last round against Calvisano ended a run of four consecutive Amlin Challenge Cup defeats. ?
Against French opposition, Bucharest have won just one of their last 11 games in this competition.
Mis sous pression par le Connacht qui recevait l'Enisei-STM dans le même temps
There was heartbreak again for Bucharest Wolves as they were pipped by Brive in an epic Amlin Challenge Cup clash at Stadium Arcul de Triumf.
Former Wales caretaker coach Lynn Howells’ team lost their opening game in Pool 3 to a 76th minute penalty that gave Newcastle Falcons a 13-12 win and it took five penalties from the boot of outside half Thomas Laranjeira to rescue Brive.
Laranjeira took his points tally in three games to 44 as he added 15 to the 18 he scored in the 20-20 draw in Calvisano and the 11 he plundered in the 23-10 victory over the Falcons in round two. His boot came to the rescue after the Wolves had scored the only try of the game to hit the front midway through the second half.
The game was tight all the way through and Laranjeria just managed to give the former Heineken Cup winners a 9-6 lead on the stroke of half-time with his second penalty. Florin Vlaiu hit the mark twice in the first half for the home side and Laurent Ferreres opened the Brive account with a drop goal.
But the try from lock Valentin Poilan on 56 minutes changed the complexion of the game and gave Bucharest real hope of taking a major scalp and they tried to build on their big second round win over Calvisano.
Vlaicu added the conversion and the home side were good value for their 13-9 lead having dominated in the lead up to the try. Brive were forced to dig deep and responded via the unerring boot of Laranjeira.
He cut the gap to one point after 65 minutes and then put his side 15-13 ahead moments after Florin Sasu picked up a yellow card. The teams were both down to 14 men when Brive lost Simon Pinet for 10 minutes shortly afterwards.
Laranjeira then gave Brive some breathing space with his fifth penalty a minute from time. The two teams will meet again next weekend, when the Wolves make the first of their three successive away trips.
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