Rugby Sale showdown the focus for Sinckler’s return
BRISTOL Bears aim to have England tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler firing in time for their Heineken Champions Cup showdown with Sale Sharks a week tomorrow, director of rugby Pat Lam confirmed
Sinckler, pictured, appeared in all five Six Nations matches but was hampered by a back injury and then the concussion sustained against Ireland, both of which restricted his ability to train.
The 29-year-old tighthead was rested for Bristol’s Gallagher Premiership defeat by Saracens on Saturday and may also sit out tomorrow’s clash at Northampton Saints.
Lam revealed the key target for the prop is for him to be ready for the European round-of-16 first-leg clash with Sale. “Kyle had niggles and stuff from those last few weeks with England, so we’re giving him as much time as possible to be ready for the Champions Cup,” said Lam.
He is not alone, with scrum-half Andy Uren and wing Luke Morahan also in a race against time to be involved in the big knockout games and provide added quality to the Bears squad.
Following the defeat to Saracens, Lam all but admitted Bristol’s season is now all about success in Europe.
After an agonising 27-23 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 10th-placed Bears are now 21 points off the play-offs and seven points off eighth - and with it qualification for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
That second gap may be bridgeable but with just five games and 25 league points, remaining the club’s play-off dreams have vanished. But after delivering Bristol their first senior trophy in 37 years when the Bears beat Toulon 32-19 to win the Challenge Cup final at Stade Maurice-David in October, 2020, former Heineken Champions Cup winner Lam, who captained Northampton Saints to glory in 1999-00, said: “This can still be one of the greatest seasons we have ever had.
“I said to the boys, ‘When Northampton won the Champions Cup, anyone remember where they finished in the league?’ The answer was sixth and no one cared. Ultimately, there is an opportunity because we are in that last 16 and we are continuing to try and build. It is not about looking at the tables, it is about looking at the performance and finding areas to grow. If anything a positive to come out of this year is working out where we are as a group, evolving our game. A lot of people will always talk about the tries we score but the last four games we have secured every contestable ball that has been kicked at us and people don’t see those fundamentals and the work we do on it.
“We know we can win every game and we know that because we look back and review them and see what we need to do, but have to earn the right to do that and that is what we have really focused on in the last six weeks.”