Fijian Tuicuvu among list of 5 players in at Davidson's Brive

Jeremy Davidson’s Brive are set to return to Top 14 training on June 8 after a busy few weeks of recruitment. It was May 2 when the French club announced that ten players would be leaving following the cancellation of the 2019/20 season. 

Brive has been in eleventh place in the Top 14 with seven wins and a draw in 17 outings before the season was stopped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. Scotland outcast Alex Dunbar was among the list of leavers and Davidson has since been busy bringing in the replacements.

They so far have included La Rochelle winger Valentin Tirefort, Edinburgh prop Pietro Ceccarelli, Beziers centre Wesley Douglas, utility Clermont back Setariki Tuicuvu and Bordeaux hooker Florian Dufour. 

Capped by Fiji in the run-up to the World Cup in Japan, Tuicuvu ultimately failed to make the 31-man squad for the finals. He since went on to feature for Clermont in five of their Top 14 matches. 

“Our desire is to work with the current group, which has a good room for improvement,” said Brive managing director Xavier Ric to Midi Olympique following the club’s first season back in the top flight following their 2017/18 relegation.

“We are waiting to have more visibility on the budgetary part before possibly continuing our recruitment. The club is used to being careful about this.”

Scot Dunbar, who joined on a one-year deal last summer, made seven Top 14 appearances and was included on an extensive departures list that also featured wingers Guillaume Namy and Franck Romanet, hooker Francois Da Ros, loosehead Karlen Asieshvili, second row Jan Uys and Richard Fourcade, tighthead James Johnston, back Rory Scholes, and centre Alban Ramette. 

Brive, who are hoping to move into a new training centre in September, have also announced a five-year kit deal with Adidas.