Pat Lam's Bristol Bears lose England star after Henry Pollock incident

Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam has suffered another injury setback as his side seek to defend their unbeaten start to the new season with a first-ever win over Saracens at the StoneX on Saturday.

Lam has revealed that England star Benhard Janse van Rensburg has been ruled out for the next two weeks after colliding with Henry Pollock’s knee in their win over Northampton Saints at Ashton Gate last weekend.

Van Rensburg, a talisman for the Bears, will also miss the Champions Cup clash with Stormers in Cape Town but, along with Ellis Genge, should return for the PREM return against Exeter Chiefs on October 24.

Lam is confident that his side, who haven’t beaten Sarries since winning 16-12 at Ashton Gate in August 2020, have learnt to cope with big-name injuries over the last 12 months.

“Benhard will probably take the next three weeks off. So he’ll come back from HIA protocols. It was a big knock, so he’ll miss this week, the following week, and should be back for Round 4 of the PREM.

“I was pleased when they told me he needs to have at least a few weeks off. The last thing I want to do is mess around with any of the players; they’ve got to be completely signed off.

“So, no problem. The way I look at it, after last year, thankfully, it’s only a few games. This is compared to the 8, 10, 12 whole-season injuries we’ve had, so this seems pretty easy.

“We build the team around clarity on roles, so BV has a role, and he brings that into it. Then the next guy comes in and does the same role and brings it into it.

“I think if anything, like last year, what we learned was that there can be a drop-off naturally because of experience and the depth that you have in that group.

“But we have some good centres there that will step in, and they know the role doesn’t change and what we expect from the centre. They step in and do that.

“Our game’s not built around BV. Our game’s around BV’s specific role that he needs to do, and he does it brilliantly. We know that 100 per cent, but it’s not built around him,” he said.