REPORT | Brive 33-7 Warriors

Warriors were beaten 33-7 by Brive in a torrid rearranged game in Tulle as the French side took second place in European Challenge Cup Pool 5 to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

With the game scheduled to take place at the Stade Amedee-Domenech at 3.30pm local time, a waterlogged pitch meant the game was postponed and moved to 8pm in nearby town Tulle – half-an-hour away from Brive.

The conditions weren’t much better in Tulle, although a playable pitch meant the game would go ahead, but in a dour encounter, Brive played the conditions and deprived Warriors of the ball.

Warriors managed to hold the hosts out for almost half-an-hour before Sisa Koyamaibole struck twice to give Brive a healthy lead at the break following first-half yellow cards for Matt Cox and Simon Kerrod.

And they put the tie to bed in the second period with scores for Benito Masilevu, Dominiko Waqaniborutu and Seremaia Burotu despite a consolation score for Tom Howe, to ensure their place in March’s quarter-finals.

Masilevu should’ve touched down early on as he chased a kick through but the winger failed to ground the ball, losing it forward.

The big wideman then looked to exploit some space out wide but was brought down illegally by Cox who was sin-binned for a high tackle and Brive soon applied the pressure in the battering rain.

And they finally got their reward when Koyamaibole burrowed over from close range.

Kerrod then found himself in the bin as the Brive pack got the upper hand but Warriors continued to dig in and deny the hosts who needed a four-try win to have a chance of qualifying.

But with Warriors struggling to get ball in hand, the hosts made the most of the man advantage and Koyamaibole got his second after Brive patiently knocked on the door.

Masilevu then darted through after the break and with Gaeten Germain’s third successful conversion, the game was almost beyond doubt, but Brive needed a fourth try for their all-important bonus point.

And they got it when Waqaniborutu went over before Warriors got a late consolation through Howe following a kick in behind from Sam Olver.

There was still time at the death for Brive to put some gloss on the result as Burotu crashed over to secure the win.

Warriors’ wait to reach the European knockout stages for the first time since 2009 will go on while Brive march on to the quarter-finals.

Warriors | 15 Ben Howard, 14 Perry Humphreys (Alo 35-39 {Howe 39}), 13 Chris Pennell, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Dean Hammond (Olver 60), 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Michael Dowsett (Baldwin 26); 1 Ryan Bower (Milasinovich 60), 2 Kurt Haupt, 3 Simon Kerrod (Alo 51), 4 Darren Barry, 5 Pierce Phillips (Taylor 56), 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Matt Cox, 8 GJ van Velze (C) (Williams 70)

Replacements | 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Gareth Milasinovich, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Matti Williams, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Tom Howe

Timeline
29m | Koyamaibole try 5-0
30m | Germain con 7-0
38m | Koyamaibole try 12-0
39m | Germain con 14-0
45m | Masilevu try 19-0
46m | Germain con 21-0
58m | Waqaniborutu try 26-0
64m | Howe try 26-5
64m | Pennell con 26-7
79m | Burotu try 31-7
80m | Germain con 33-7