Preview: Brive v Leinster
October 16 2009
The Heineken Cup clash between Brive and Leinster at the Stade Municipal on Saturday will be the first meeting between the two sides as we enter Round Two of the tournament.
Brive and Leinster were both on the receiving end in the opening round and another defeat could sound goodnight for the loser - a scenario that was certainly not in the pre-season plans of either side.
Brive have returned to the competition they won in 1997 with a positive approach, but they couldn't breach the Scarlets line last Saturday and had to rely on the boot of Andy Goode. His four penalties were not enough as the Scarlets managed to score two tries and keep the home fans happy.
The same could not be said for the supporters at the RDS. They would have gone home bemused as to how the Heineken Cup champions failed to beat London Irish.
Leinster began at pace and had opened up a three-point lead within seconds of the kick-off. But 80 minutes later and that minor lead had reversed to a three-point deficit, and what could prove to be a costly loss.
In team news, Leinster centre Brian O'Driscoll will partner Luke Fitzgerald in the midfield with Isa Nacewa moving to the left wing. Shane Horgan continues on the right wing, while Rob Kearney starts at full-back.
Eoin Reddan continues his half-back partnership with Jonathan Sexton.
In the pack, Cian Healy again lines up alongside John Fogarty and Mike Ross. Leo Cullen and Kevin McLaughlin will undergo late fitness tests and a decision on their selection will be made closer to kick-off.
Should either Cullen or McLaughlin miss out Malcolm O'Kelly will start with Devin Toner coming on to the replacements bench.
The teams:
Brive: 15 Fabrice Estebanez, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Lachlan Mackay, 11 Viliame Waqaseduadua, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Antoine Claassen, 7 Vincent Forgues, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Damien Browne, 4 Christian Short, 3 Pat Barnard, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Davit Kinchagishvili.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux, 17 Petrisor Toderasc, 18 Retief Uys, 19 Simon Azoulai, 20 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Ronnie Cooke, 23 Pascal Idieder.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Kevin McLaughlin/Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Leo Cullen (c)/Malcolm O'Kelly, 3 Mike Ross, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Bernard Jackman, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Ronan McCormack, 19 Malcolm O'Kelly/Devin Toner, 20 Stephen Keogh/Kevin McLaughlin, 21 Simon Keogh, 22 Shaun Berne, 23 Gordon D'Arcy.
Date: Saturday, October 17
Venue: Parc Municipal
Kick-off: 16:45 (14:45 GMT)
Referee: James Jones (WRU)
Assistant referees: Hugh Watkins (WRU), Barrie Gregory (WRU)
TMO: Huw Lewis (WRU)
