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Bristol Bears facing the prospect of losing Charles Piutau for an extended period
By Alex Shaw
Bristol Bears’ hopes of making a flying start to the return to their Gallagher Premiership have taken a significant blow after Charles Piutau was removed just 13 minutes after arriving on the pitch in the club’s final preseason friendly.
Piutau left the field with his arm in a sling on Saturday, as Bristol lost 12-14 to Connacht at Ashton Gate.
Even in an ideal scenario it would be a race against time to be fit for Bristol’s opener with Bath on Friday evening but RugbyPass understands that the injury could be much more serious, with one source suggesting a 4-6-month layoff for the former All Black.
The club have yet to confirm the severity of the injury, but director of rugby Pat Lam did acknowledge following the game that Piutau had damaged his shoulder.
Speaking to the Bristol Bears official website, Lam stated that it “looks like a shoulder (injury), so at the moment the medical team are with Charles and we’re hoping it’s not too serious and we’ll update everyone when we know a bit more.”
If Piutau were to miss a significant portion of the season, it would be a sizeable bump in the road in Bristol’s bid to consolidate their place in the Premiership, with only Worcester Warriors deemed a more likely candidate for the drop by the majority of bookmakers.
The signing of Piutau was seen as a statement of intent by the club and his displays for the All Blacks, and more recently Wasps and Ulster, were enough to suggest that he could be a difference-maker for Bristol in what will undoubtedly be a hard-contested relegation battle.
Luke Daniels, a summer signing from Ealing Trailfinders, and Luke Morahan, a former Australian international, would both be candidates to fill the void, should the Kiwi have to spend an extended period on the sidelines.
He was not the only player to suffer in the final weeks of preseason, with Wasps’ Jimmy Gopperth set to miss the majority of the 2018/19 season after undergoing a knee reconstruction following an injury also suffered against Connacht, whilst Northampton Saints’ new signing Dan Biggar left the field after just two minutes in his side’s friendly with Glasgow Warriors.
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Latest Comments
They won’t be rested Ed. Gathie was forced to ditch that practice, by WR, LNR, or whoever, IDK.
It’s very simple and you obviously know this, they do what’s best for the athlete. Galthie is just doing his part in making sure they don’t break, you know, like a team effort.
Just as LNRs teams are.
Bottom lines? The players don’t get a lot of rest as their season is so long, yes, but Galthie can select any player he wants in an International window. You just have to ask yourself does Galthie want to select that player or ensure they are rested? You just need to stop being obtuse, and some French white knight guy, what you say is simply untrue.
Why not just word it properly?
Go to commentsI can see where you are coming from.
The ANZAC myth has been used by sports teams for years. Some to a greater degree e.g. the old Rugby League ANZAC test, some other sports will make passing reference in the advertising or commentary etc.
I don’t think the ANZACs (looking down from heaven) see themselves as sacred cows. I think they would rather see a game of rugby in their honour. What better time to hold a Bledisloe cup match?
ANZAC day is about both remembering the ANZAC’s sacrifice, and their descendants celebrating the freedom we have because of that sacrifice. If a Bledisloe ANZAC test was done in a tasteful way. I see no issue with it.
I don’t think rugby league deserved to host an ANZAC test as rugby league organisations encouraged their players not to go to WWI (Australia didn’t conscript for WWI).
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