And referee Phillips sounds his whistle drawing this epic encounter to a close. Brive certainly had many chances to close the game off in the final 10 mins, most notably with that missed penalty, 5 mins from the end. Although Newcastle had the perfect start to the second half with that early try and the following penalty, they just failed to string any clinical plays together and thus conceded 10 unanswered points. Worthy winners, Brive will certainly be satisfied with the win with a very strong performance today, most notably from inside centre, Laranjeira, who controlled the game with the boot and was responsible for 18 of Brive's 23 this evening. Brive now top are highly contested pool, with only 4 points separating top from bottom. But that concludes Ultimate Rugby's coverage of this thrilling match - hope you enjoyed it!

Try for Brive! Only phases after Godman's missed attempt. The home side march down the other end and with a brilliant passage of play, spread the ball wide to speedster Voretayama who juggles the ball before sliding over in the corner. With confirmation from the TMO, Phillips awards the try! Laranjeira adds the extras from the touchline and puts his side 7 points in front.

Penalty for Newcastle. Yet more ill-discipline at the breakdown from the home side gives Godman a golden opportunity to put the visitors in front. But it shaves the bar and goes wide. The scores remain at 16-16

And it's all kicked off here. A clear shoulder-charge from substitute Tomaszczyk has not impressed the Brive players and after much pushing and shoving, Phillips calms the players, consults the TMO and is left with no choice but to send Tomaszczyk to the bin

Penalty for Newcastle! Referee Phillips is unhappy with an infringement in a Falcons rolling maul and awards the penalty. Godman makes no mistake with his attempt and puts the visitors back in front!

Penalty for Newcastle! Ill-discipline at the breakdown gives the visitors a chance to level the scores. To a chorus of jeers, Godman steps up, slots the ball between the uprights and silences the crowd. The scores are now level at 13 points a piece.

And it's the visitors who get that much coveted opening score of the half. An excellent move is polished off with a well-weighted crossfield kick to send left-winger Ryan Shortland to touch down in the corner. Godman is unsuccessful and pulls his attempt left. 3 points now the difference.

Phase after phase with no real forward momentum. Laranjeira drops into the pocket for the drop goal, but sees his attempt drift narrowly to the right.

And referee Dudley Phillips sounds his whistle bringing this tightly fought opening 40mins of rugby to a close. After an opening 20 mins of very slow and nip-and-tuck rugby, the game has really come alive in the latter part of the first half. Brive are certainly the most dominant of the two sides and looked very threatening right up until the break. They may be considering themselves rather unlucky to not be further in front having been narrowly ruled offside in a disallowed try. Newcastle Falcons however are by no means dead and buried and will certainly be looking to get that crucial opening score of the first half. With 8 points between the sides, it's very much all to play for here so be sure to stay tuned!

What a sequence of events! After Laranjeira slotted a penalty to put the home side back in front, the ball emerges from the breakdown following the restart to send speedster Voretayama down the line. The right winger is caught however but offloads to talisman Laranjeira to touchdown unopposed under the posts. He converts his own try to make it 13-5 to Brive.