Preview: Brive v La Rochelle

Editor

Sixth plays ninth on Friday in the Top 14 when Brive play host to La Rochelle in the first game of Round 13.

Neither side are through to the last eight of the Challenge Cup, allowing them to focus solely on the league and either pushing for the play-offs or avoiding relegation.

Friday also sees a battle between two of the competition's top points scorers, with Brive full-back Gaetan Germain leading the way with 148 and La Rochelle's Zack Holmes boasting 137 so far.

Both sides secured narrow wins last time out in Round 12, with Brive edging out Montpellier 19-18 and La Rochelle winning at home against Castres 25-21.

France squad members Kevin Gourdon and Uini Atonio both return to boost the La Rochelle pack, while Germain's return is timely for the hosts.

The teams: 

Brive: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Guillaume Namy, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Chris Tuatara-Morrison, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Mathieu Ugalde, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 6 Fabien Sanconnie, 5 Arnaud Mela, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Damien Jourdain, 2 Francois Da Ros, 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquiet, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Johan Snyman, 19 Poutasi Luafatu, 20  Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 21 Thomas Laranjeira, 22 Alfi Mafi, 23 Giorgi Jgenti

La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Gabriel Lacroix, 13 Pierre Aguillon, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Eliott Roudil, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Julien Audy, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Zeno Kieft, 5 Leandro Cedaro, 4 Jason Eaton, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Vincent Pelo
Replacements: 16 Maxime Gau, 17 Thomas Synaeghel, 18 Damien Lagrange, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Jean Pascal Barraque, 22 Benjamin Lapeyre, 23 Gagi Bazadze

Date: Friday, January 29
Venue: Stade Amédée-Domenech 
Kick-off: 20:45 local (19:45 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite 
Assistant Referees: Thomas Charabas, Patrick Beuriot 
TMO: Mourad Zitouni