Radradra’s back and may even be ready for Wasps clash
BRISTOL Bears’ superstar Semi Radrada is back in the country and has reported for duty to the Gallagher Premiership club’s Failand High Performance Centre.
Centre Radradra’s return to the UK from Fiji was delayed due to Covid complications on the Pacific Island but Bears director of rugby Pat Lam confirmed he is now back in the mix.
Speaking in his midweek press conference ahead of the trip to Wasps on Saturday in Round Two of the Gallagher Premiership, Lam said: “Semi arrived back in the country on Sunday with his family which is great
“At the moment we are just going through the process of checking him over and seeing where he is at following his time with Fiji and after the Olympics.”
Radradra, pictured, returns to club duty later than most following his exploits in Japan this summer where he helped Fiji to win their second-ever gold medal at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in rugby’s shortened version of the game, sevens.
Following the success in Tokyo, Radradra returned to Fiji to see his family having not been back home since linking up with Bristol in the summer of 2020 straight from French Top 14 side Bordeaux Begles.
While it would be a shock to see Radradra’s name on the teamsheet this weekend to face Wasps at the newly-named Coventry Building Society Arena, the 29-year-old is renowned for keeping himself in incredible condition all year round.
Radradra first seriously caught Lam’s eye during his time coaching the Barbarians to a 51-43 victory over England in 2019 and the Bears boss praised the approach to the game the Fijian 15-a-side captain took, not drinking with the majority of the players and doing extra training sessions in the build-up while the majority of the invitational side partied.
When Lam signed Radradra, he divulged: “I knew Semi in rugby league and I thought ‘wow what a player’. With the Barbarians, I got to meet him, and build a relationship. He is phenomenal because of the work he puts into his skills and into his body.”