JAMES HARRINGTON
FRENCH COLUMN
Of the three words in Arnauld Mela’s week-old job title ‘interim head coach’ at Top 14 side Brive, the first one is by far the most important. The 42-year-old former lock, a popular figure in the Brive dressing room, has been handed the position on a temporary basis following the effective dismissal last Saturday evening of Jeremy Davidson.
Word is, meanwhile, that Racing 92’s director of rugby Laurent Travers – a European champion with Brive back in 1997 – has politely rejected an approach, preferring to stick with his impending move to become chairman of Racing’s management board.
Patrice Collazo, out of the rugby limelight since he was replaced at Toulon by Franck Azema, is another name up for consideration at Amedee Domenech, according to reports in France.
Former Ireland international Davidson was ‘temporarily relieved of his duties’ after Brive’s loss 45-7 home loss to Toulouse.
Interim head coach Mela, who was lineout coach until Monday, the one consistent positive of Brive’s campaign so far, will work with what’s left of Davidson’s staff, Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, Didier Faugeron, and Goderdzi Shvelidze to, according to a press release, “rapidly improve sporting results”.
Mela may have his work cut out. There had been reports of internal divisions, with some players said to be unwilling to sign new deals if Davidson stayed, according to La Montagne – the paper also claimed that his future depended on the performance against Toulouse.
If so, no one had told the coach, who, in his post-match comments last Saturday, clearly expected to be in charge for the trip to Stade Francais. He even spoke of his great expectations when the lengthy register of injured players on Brive’s books starts to get shorter – as it is expected to shortly.
There’s no denying that, overall, Davidson had done a decent job at Brive since accepting the top job at the Correze club in 2018, a promotion from his previous role as forwards coach at Bordeaux.
In his first season, he took the 1997 European champions back into the Top 14, and then successfully kept them there, despite one of the lowest overall budgets in the league.
The bare stats of 32 wins, 2 draws and 50 losses don’t really do Davidson’s Brive period justice, given the constraints he was working under at a club with one of the lowest budgets in the French top flight.
But the club has become a different animal recently. A large financial investment from tech investment fund boss Ian Osborne has Brive dreaming of a future in which Top 14 survival is no longer the name of the game, but challenging for honours again is.
“If he wants the job, Mela does not have long to turn the club around”
Club chairman Simon Gillham has repeatedly spoken of his pride that the 148th biggest town in France – population 46,000, give or take, – has one of the 14 best teams. With this new investment the intention is to turn Brive into Castres – arelatively small town with a big team – and beyond.
Already, Gillham has spoken about the club’s new ability to target a ‘higher level’ of potential recruit. Glasgow and Scotland lock Richie Gray – who would go a long way to solving the French club’s current shortfall in the second row – has already been mentioned in dispatches.
But first, Brive need to find Davidson’s long-term successor and convince recruitment targets of their potential.
It may be Mela – he is known and respected by the players and loved by the fans – gets the job permanently. But, his head coaching credentials are limited to a couple of years at third tier Albi. Given the club’s reborn ambitions, then, he may stand down, when the time comes, for another bigger-than-expected name.
If he is gunning for the job permanently, Mela does not have long to turn the struggling club around – Brive headed into the weekend 12th in the table, with two wins from seven matches, and the humiliating record of shipping 99 unanswered points in 181 minutes between Thomas Laranjeira’s 58th-minute conversion against Bayonne on October 1, and Sammy Arnold’s touchdown two minutes from time against Toulouse last weekend.
But that absence of a honeymoon period accorded to permanent coaches may work in his favour. His first selection, with no fewer than eight academy players involved, and a pair of teenagers pulling strings from half-back, was certainly bold even allowing for the squad’s lengthy injury list.
Despite dogged defence, Mela’s youth policy struggled to make an impact at Stade Francais, spending much of their time without the ball and camped in their own half. The match finished 27-0 in favour of the Parisians – their bonus point try coming in the 69th minute. He definitely has his work cut out.
Earlier, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend may have mixed emotions and second thoughts about Finn Russell’s ringmaster performance as Racing 92 beat Montpellier 38-31 at La Defense Arena – inflicting a fourth defeat in a row on the defending champions.
Days after Townsend justified the fly-half ‘s omission from Scotland’s November internationals squad by saying his performances so far this season had not been up to standard, Russell made three tries, and kicked four penalties and three conversions.
Toulon had near-complete control in the set piece, but were unable to pull away from a niggly, gnarly, much-changed Castres side at Stade Mayol – eventually winning 28-20.
Racing 38 – 31 Montpellier Bayonne 24 – 20 Perpignan Lyon 31 – 17 Pau Stade Francais 27 – 0 Brive Toulon 28 – 20 Castres Clermont Auv 23 – 23 Bordeaux
After winning at Montpellier last weekend, Lyon would have fancied their chances at home against lowly Pau – but they, too, struggled to grab hold of the game. In the end, however, they came back from 17-7 down midway through the second half to win 31-27.
Bayonne also had to come from behind to maintain their winning run at home. Gaetan Germain’s 74th-minute try – put clear by the evergreen Camille Lopez – decisive as they beat Perpignan 24-20.
Clermont should have beaten Bordeaux easily at home. Instead, they let the visitors come back from 14-0 down to lead briefly 23-20 before Anthony Belleau landed the penalty that levelled the scores at 23-23 and ensured Jono Gibbes’ side maintained their unbeaten run at home.
Tonight, leaders Toulouse host second-placed La Rochelle. Ugo Mola’s side have won the last eight meetings between the two teams – and the head coach has put out a strong squad, featuring numerous French internationals for the last time before they leave for the November internationals’ training camp.
