Jeremy Davidson relieved of head coach duties after Brive hammering

Davidson has essentially been sacked just seven games into the season after a humiliating loss at home

Sat, 15 Oct, 2022 - 20:27

James Harrington

Top 14

Former Ireland international Jeremy Davidson has been 'relieved of his duties' as head coach at Top 14 side Brive just seven games into the season, a couple of hours after a humiliating loss at home against leaders Toulouse.

The club announced his lay-off in a brief statement that read: “CA Brive announces the temporary layoff of manager Jeremy Davidson.

“The current staff continues its missions with the objective of improving the results of the club.

“The whole of CA Brive is focused on the preparation of the trip to Paris to face the Stade Francais.”

The 45-7 loss at Stade Amedee Domenech followed a 47–0 defeat at Toulon last week and leaves now-managerless Brive hovering just above the relegation zone with just two wins from their opening seven matches - both of them against sides below them in the table.

The 32-cap international has been in charge at Brive since 2018, when they were in the ProD2 and guided them to promotion in his first season in charge, and has kept them in the top flight ever since, despite operating with one of the league's smaller budgets.

The club has recently secured major new investment from new main shareholder Ian Osborne, co-founder and CEO of international tech investment fund Hedosophia, and is working to set ambitious new plans in motion.

While the announcement means that Davidson has, to all intents and purposes, been sacked, he officially remains an employee while club and coach work their way through the formal process of ending his contract in accordance with French employment law.

Former Connacht centre Sammy Arnold scored Brive’s only try of the game in the 78th minute as they, at least, avoided the embarrassment of being nilled for the second match in a row.

But there was still time for new Toulouse signing Arthur Retiere, playing both wing and scrum-half in the 18 minutes he was on the pitch, to score his second - and his side’s sixth - of the match.

The win came at a high potential cost for the visitors and France, however. Two days before France coach Fabien Galthie was expected to announce his first training squad for the November internationals, Toulouse’s international fullback Melvyn Jaminet was half-carried off the pitch with an ankle injury in the opening quarter, and was later seen on crutches.

Stade Francais scored 24 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes of their match at Pau while a player down following Marcus Kremer’s red card for a dangerous tackle as they came back from 29-7 to win 31-29, Joris Segonds landing the crucial conversion from out wide after the hooter.

Despite losing their fourth match in a row after inflicting the only defeat of the season on Toulouse, Pau moved off the bottom of the table at the expense of Perpignan, whose 10-20 loss to Clermont at Stade Aime-Giral only ticked into life in the 70th minute, when the visitors Bautista Delguy scored the first of the game’s two tries.

Lyon doubled down on last weekend’s 31-26 win at home to Bordeaux with an astonishing 33-26 victory at the GGL Stadium, home of defending Top 14 champions Montpellier, who fell to their third defeat in a row - and their second at home.

Fiji 7s World Cup winner Kaminieli Rasaku scored on his debut for Bayonne, but also conceded a penalty try as hosts Castres' unbeaten run at home continued, with a 39-22 win. Benjamin Urdapilleta kicked 21 points for the home side.

Two tries from flanker Mahamadou Diaby guided Bordeaux to a 29-17 win over Racing 92 at Stade Chaban Delmas, while after a difficult start to the season, Matthieu Jalibert finally looked to be approaching the form that won him a France call-up.

Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, meanwhile, have a chance to close the gap on leaders Toulouse on Sunday, as they face Toulon at Stade Marcel Deflandre.