The former European Champions, who won the Heineken Cup in 1997 by beating Leicester with a side containing France legends Christophe Lamaison, Alain Penaud and Philippe Carbonneau, cross the channel with a more modest squad containing few internationals – those they have include Frenchmen Lionel Mallier, Ludovic Valbon and Sebastien Bonetti, as well as Argentinian prop Daniel Rodriguez and Petrisor Toderasc from Romania.  Lock Yves Manhes is the only player to remain from the 1998 final defeat to Bath in Bordeaux.

In addition to this, although Brive sit a respectable eighth in the Top 16 and have won four games this season (including a 12-10 win over Narbonne on Saturday), all of their victories and their one draw against Bayonne have come at home, whilst away they have fallen at Castres, Agen, Stade Francais and 43-5 at Biarritz.  In last year’s Challenge Cup, Brive defeated Worcester, El Salvador and Saracens on their way to losing in the semi-finals to Pau, yet only in Spain did they manage an away win.

So history is on our side against the central France side, as we have to date only lost one European match at Kingston Park (against Newport in 2001, although we also lost our home match to Leinster that year played at Headingley).

In Brive’s previous seasons in this tournament they have fared averagely, as semi-finalists in 1999, falling at the group stages in 2000 and in 2001 and 2004 both times losing to eventual winners Harlequins in the last 8.

We on the other hand have two quarter-finals and two semi-finals to our name, so therefore have a slightly better record, though also not one to shout about.

This game could, although there are five to follow it, decide qualification for the knockout stages itself as ourselves and Brive are, on paper, the strongest sides in the group (whatever Jerome Bonvoisin says), and whoever loses will have a tough task making up the deficit in France in January.

We have to make sure that we continue the form shown against Sale in the Cup three weeks ago, and if so then we will have a good step towards qualifying already.  If not, Brive could easily sneak their first away win of the season.

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