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Bristol swoop for Lovejoy Chawatama as Kyle Sinckler's replacement
By Jon Newcombe
Bristol have secured the signature of Harlequins prop Lovejoy Chawatama, filling the vacancy that will be left by the touted end-of-season exit of tighthead Kyle Sinckler to the Top 14.
Bears director of rugby Pat Lam had been keen on bringing Chawatama to Ashton Gate ever since the front-rower’s former club, London Irish, went into administration at the end of last season.
At the time, Chawatama opted to sign for Harlequins but the 31-year-old from Zimbabwe has now committed to Bristol, who need a replacement for the France-bound Sinckler.
Chawatama was a mainstay of the London Irish team in their swansong Premiership season in 2022/23, making 18 league appearances.
The tighthead has since struggled for game time at Harlequins, only taking the field on seven occasions in all competitions this season.
Chawatama is no stranger to the West Country having had a brief spell in the National Leagues with Clifton while he was studying construction project management at the University of the West of England in Bristol.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed on Tuesday that Callum Sheedy, the Bears' long-serving No10, will join Cardiff next season to reignite his stalled international career with Wales.
Sheedy joined the Bristol academy in 2014 before graduating to the first-team squad, going on to make his international debut for Wales in 2020.
The 28-year-old has scored 1,165 points for Bristol during his 178 appearances, making him the club’s sixth-highest points scorer of all time.
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Latest Comments
"If NZ win well against Ireland and France, rather than the slightly scruffy wins they had against England, then I would be pretty confident that razor is beginning to get his feet properly under the table and good things may lie ahead".
I agree re your assessment of England as better than they are given credit for. Surely you can see that your above assessment is for the birds?
France have beaten NZ by 14-15 times in the last two matches. Ireland beat NZ in Durban with a lot of first team players missing almost all of which will start tomorrow.
Yet you maintain that doling out heavy defeats to Ireland and France in Dublin and Paris will be a sign that things are on the up?
I agree the NZ forwards are very good. But this Irish pack, dominated SA in Durban (not in the scrum but everywhere else).
In short, good luck with that prediction but this is 2024 not 1984!
Go to commentsABs have a genuine opportunity to best Ireland in the scrum with Bealham a significant downgrade on Furlong. Ireland have a dearth of props coming through and will only get front going forward from the heights they’ve seen over recent years. If that happens then DMac could well run amok…!!!
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