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
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments