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Bristol lose England international shortly before Leicester clash
By Josh Raisey
Bristol Bears fullback Max Malins has been forced out of his side's clash with Leicester Tigers at Welford Road today.
The 27-year-old was originally scheduled to start at fullback for the high-flying Bears, but Bristol confirmed his withdrawal with less than two hours to go before taking on the Tigers.
Malins was on the scoresheet last week in Bristol's resounding 85-14 win over Newcastle Falcons, which saw them climb into the top four of the Gallagher Premiership.
The 22-cap England international has been replaced by Rich Lane in the starting line-up, who was originally set to start on the bench. Piers O'Conor has been drafted into the matchday squad to fill Lane's place among the substitutes.
Updated Bristol Bears XV: 15. Rich Lane, 14. Siva Naulago, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. James Williams, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. James Dun, 5. Joe Batley, 6. Steven Luatua, 7. Fitz Harding (c), 8. Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: 16. Harry Thacker, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Josh Caulfield, 20. Jake Heenan, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Virimi Vakatawa, 23. Piers O'Conor.
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No longer able to except the excuses offered up for Rob. The red jersey has lost it’s mana and become a joke. I do not wish Mr Penny any wrong but it is time to go. Do the right thing Rob and retire, PLEASE.
Go to commentsIt is a travesty that 8/12 teams play in the finals, and that 4 wins out of 14 might be enough to get you there, but every competition has this to some degree. If it was only the top 4 going through, then this season would have been over for 6 of the teams 4 weeks ago. Super Rugby is simply a feeder competition for the All Blacks and Wallabies. There are low stakes and no consequences because so few people care who wins Super Rugby. In football, winning the Champions League is the pinnacle for any player or fan. The fate of national teams in the world cup or Euros is a complete second fiddle to The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundelsliga etc… Same with the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. Players and fans care deeply about their team winning NBA title, but don’t care at all about USA winning gold at the Olympics. Or more locally with Rugby League, the Hierarchy is probably NRL > State of Origin > International. For some maybe State of Origin is the top. Super Rugby is low consequence and low stakes because no one cares enough about the outcome. Players ultimately want to play for the ABs, not the Hurricanes or Blues. Casual fans aren’t talking about SR selections but everyone has an opinion on Sam Cane or Ian Foster. Super Rugby is a means to an end. The only context it has is how it effects who is selected for the ABs.
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