Nadolo hat-trick sinks Brive

Editor

Montpellier surged up the table after a bonus-point 42-13 win over Brive at Altrad Stadium on Sunday. 

The win for Montpellier sees them go to second on the table as they leap frog Castres and Clermont Auvergne with their fourth successive win. Brive stay put in sixth place after not picking up any additional points from the game.

The influence of gargantuan winger Nemani Nadolo was tangible as he proved to be a nightmare for the Brive defence after scoring a hat-trick. 

A duo of yellow cards really cost the visitors as Teddy Iribaren and Sisa Koyamaibole were both booked at vital parts of the game.

Montpellier drew first blood when Nemani Nadolo dotted down for his side. It was all Montpellier in the first utterances of the game as the big Fijian crashed over the try line in the 13th minute. 

Brive then took the lead with a second penalty from full-back Gaetan Germain which allowed the visitors some false hope for their prospects in the first half.

Their hopes were then dashed when the ever dangerous Nadolo scored another five-pointer for his side making the score 13-6. One of the many South Africans amongst Montpellier's ranks, Demetri Catrakilis, then pulled his side away with a conversion and subsequent penalty. 

The home side held all the cards going into the second half as they were up by 18-6, a strong 12-point cushion between them and their adversaries. 

Montpellier were eager to perpetuate their first-half momentum as another South African, Francois Steyn, then added to his side's lead with a try in the 43rd minute.

Brive weren't down and out as of yet as they scored two minutes later through loose-forward William Whetton
which was aptly converted by Germain. 

But the power of Nadolo could not be denied as the former-Crusader achieved his third try of the match and with that, the score was starting to look rather imposing for the men from Brive, as it was now 30-13.   

After a quiet patch Montpellier extended their dominant lead after hooker Charles Geli was able to get over the line for his side in the 72nd minute which replacement Ben Botica converted. 

The scorers:

For Montpellier:
Tries: Steyn, Nadolo 3, Geli
Cons: Catrakilis 3, Botica
Pens: Catrakilis 2, Botica

For Brive:
Tries: Whetton
Cons: Germain
Pens: Germain 2 
Yellow Cards: Iribaren, Koyamaibole

Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Marvin O'Connor, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Kelian Galletier, 7 Antoine Battut, 6 Wian Liebenberg, 5 Robins Tchale-Watchou, 4 Konstantin Mikautadze, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Charles Geli, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili 
Replacements: 16 Arno van Wyk, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Ben Botica, 22 Henry Immelman, 23 Jannie du Plessis

Brive: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Sevenaia Galala, 13 Romain Cabannes, 12 Chris Tuatara-Morrison, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Thomas Laranjeira, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Fabien Sanconnie, 6 William Whetton, 5 Arnaud Mela, 4 Julien Ledevedec, 3 Patrick-Albert Toetu, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Lucas Pointud 
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Damien Lavergne, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 20
Peniami Narisia, 21 Nicolas Bezy, 22 Seremaia Burotu, 23 Kevin Buys

Referee: Laurent Cardona