Pat Lam hits out after second-half cheap shot on Bristol star player Semi Radradra
Bristol boss Pat Lam struggled to suppress his anger after star player Semi Radradra took “a big forearm to his face” during Friday night’s Gallagher Premiership clash against Worcester.
The Bristol rugby director lamented rugby union’s “cheap shots” following the second-half incident that left Radradra requiring treatment. And it was television match official Geoff Warren who bore the brunt of Lam’s annoyance following a 36-13 win at Sixways.
“Semi is a big player for us, and those sort of cheap shots, it (could have been) an HIA (head injury assessment), he is out of the next game and everyone gets affected by it,” Lam said.
“It shouldn’t be going on in our game. Hopefully, they [officials] can learn from that too, particularly the TMO. When we got to 22-3 ahead, I was gutted we had a try disallowed in the corner.
“I can’t understand all the interrogation and going through every part of that try, yet Semi Radradra gets a big forearm to his face and they don’t even look at it. I’m not talking about Wayne (match referee Wayne Barnes), I’m talking about the TMO. And there were a few other things that weren’t picked up as well.
1?6?8?m
1?3? carries
5? clean breaks
1? turnoverIt's getting a bit silly now, Semi ? pic.twitter.com/pjCBEXJgMs
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) September 4, 2020
“It’s all very well looking at no tries, but you have got to look at the safety of some of the players. That was frustrating. Semi doesn’t go down. He is a tough man. I saw what happened, and I’m just amazed the TMO didn’t pick it up. We saw it clearly on the footage. Wayne didn’t get the close-up shot, so he had to make the call from a wide one.”
Bristol reclaimed second place in the Premiership and moved three points above Sale Sharks to lead the chasing play-off pack behind runaway leaders Exeter. It was the raw power and creative flair of Fijian Radradra that did for Worcester as Bristol scored tries through his midfield partner Siale Piutau, lock Ed Holmes, flanker Dan Thomas, scrum-half Andy Uren and back-row substitute Ben Earl.
Fly-half Callum Sheedy added a penalty and four conversions, but Worcester – 21 points behind Bristol before kick-off – gave their opponents a scare and led at half-time after full-back Melani Nanai’s try, plus two penalties and a conversion from Scotland international Duncan Weir.
Both teams finished with 14 men after Warriors’ replacement lock Andrew Kitchener was sent off for punching Siale Piutau, who received a yellow card following the 79th-minute incident.
Lam said: “Semi can make things out of nothing. He was on fire tonight. He has been waiting for a nice dry day. He showed what he can do. I’m pleased we got the five points. The second half was a lot better, but our discipline was poor again – we are now averaging (conceding) 17 penalties a game.
“We know we can score from anywhere, but we also know if we are not on it, we can concede from anywhere as well. A lot of that is because we don’t control the ball as well as we could.”
Reflecting on Worcester’s 13th league defeat of the season, Warriors rugby director Alan Solomons offered no excuses. “The first half, I thought we played really well. We had a number of try-scoring opportunities,” he said.
“But the second half, we came out and turned over a plethora of ball and we ended up tackling the whole of the half. We couldn’t build any pressure. Full marks to Bristol, they deserved their win, but I think we made a rod for our own back with what we did.”
5? tries and a whole lot of Radradra-themed carnage. ?
Here's your match highlights from Friday night's @premrugby victory at Sixways. ??#WORvBRI
Watch here ?
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) September 5, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Sorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
1 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
2 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
2 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
3 Go to commentsCorrect me if i’m wrong but the sadas have to win all games running into the finals yeh nah?
1 Go to commentsDon’t like Diamond but the maul is a joke, the sight of a choke tackle creating a maul then players in offside positions flopping on it killing the ball but then getting the put in? Banal.
3 Go to commentsHopefully Tabai Matson returns to Crusaders as head coach next season.
1 Go to commentsstorm in a teacup really. Penalty only so play on as the try was scored. Now the real question is: why was Maitland allowed to pass the ball off the floor? That is illegal but refs never pick it up.
1 Go to commentsWhen Beauden Barrett signed his contract before the 2023 RWC to play in Japan in 2024, it was NOT part of a sabbatical agreed to with NZRU prior to his signing, as was Ardie Savea and Sam Cane. Barrett changed his mind after the fact and negotiated his return to NZ Rugby and he was given permission to be eligible for All Black selection straight away once he signed a new contract to return to the Blues in 2025. Therefore, why would anyone argue against Whitelock returning to the All Blacks straight away after his season is France is finished if he signs a new contract with NZRU which includes a Super Rugby contract in 2025? If Barrett can, Whitelock should be allowed too.
10 Go to commentsThe All Blacks will select 5 locks this season. Scott Robertson will most likely want to select 2 veteran locks who can start right away in 2024 and 3 young promising locks who he would like to be pushing hard for selection in the starting XV in two years time- 2026. Scott Barrett is a world class lock. Who would you rather start beside him this season against England, South Africa, Ireland, and France- Sam Whitelock or Patrick Tuipulotu? I would choose Whitelock over Tuipulotu all day, every day.
10 Go to comments