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Scotland outcast Alex Dunbar among 10 players released from Top 14 Brive
By Liam Heagney
Out-of-favour Scotland midfielder Alex Dunbar is on the hunt for a new club after being released by Brive, the Top 14 outfit coached by ex-Ireland and Lions lock Jeremy Davidson. The 2019/20 top-flight season was terminated on Thursday, French officials finally admitting defeat in their quest to eventually restart the suspended season.
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Brive have now quickly come out of the blocks, revealing the identity of the ten players who are exiting Stade Amedee-Domenech. That exodus will include Dunbar, the 30-year-old who won the last of his 31 Test caps with a November 2018 appearance versus Argentina at Murrayfield.
Dunbar spent nine seasons at Glasgow Warriors, winning a PRO12 title in 2015, but he fell out of favour with Dave Rennie. After wrapping up last season with a couple of appearances in Newcastle’s relegation fall from the Gallagher Premiership, he headed to France in the hope that his one-year deal would be the spark that would revive his career.
He told RugbyPass last December that he felt the switch was paying dividends, describing himself as settled and content, but it now remains to be seen where he pitches up for the 2020/21 season.
He made seven top 14 appearances for Brive is now on an extensive departures list that also features wingers Guillaume Namy (31) and Franck Romanet (34), hooker Francois Da Ros (36), loosehead Karlen Asieshvili (33), second row Jan Uys (26) and Richard Fourcade (27), tighthead James Johnston (34), back Rory Scholes (27), and centre Alban Ramette (21).
Samoan international Johnston is moving to PRO D2 club Rouen, who are coach by ex-England scrum-half Richard Hill.
Meanwhile, ex-Fijian international Leone Ravuetaki is among the five departures from second-tier Biarritz. Elvis Levi, Pierre Bernard and Nick Smith have also left, with Asier Usarraga joining top-flight Bayonne.
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Le CA Brive souhaite remercier les 10 joueurs qui nous quitteront à la fin de la saison 19/20. Ils ont porté haut les couleurs brivistes pendant leur passage au club. Pour les remercier, un hommage individuel sera rendu à chacun d’entre eux cette semaine. https://t.co/b9uzTwORCV pic.twitter.com/6NDaVs5E8p
— CA Brive Rugby (@CABCLRUGBY) May 2, 2020
