We’ll give opportunities to local talent, says Lam
yourself and have the tenacity to succeed, there are opportunities at the Bears for homegrown talent.”
Challenger added: “It’s an honour for me and my family to be able to pull on the Bears jersey and represent the club I have supported growing up.
“I am so grateful to Pat [Lam] and the coaching team for the opportunity and will be working hard to repay that faith in me.
“The boys in the squad and the staff around the High Performance Centre have been unbelievable in welcoming me - it’s a fantastic culture here to be a part of.
“My focus is to keep working tirelessly on my game, learn from the guys around me and be the best I can be to challenge for a starting position.”
Challenger joins John Afoa, Kyle Sinckler and Jake Armstrong as the Bears’ tighthead options, while Max Lahiff can play on either side of the scrum.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old academy product George Kloska is now being groomed into an additional tighthead option having switched to prop from hooker over this summer.
Bristol assistant coach Conor McPhillips confirmed the club are looking to give him some playing time in his new position in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
McPhillips said: “Hopefully, we will get George in. He’s gone from backrow, to hooker and now to tighthead. He’s had some good A games and is getting minutes.
“He is a young guy and definitely a young prop so John Afoa has really taken him under his wing and is mentoring him and coaching him.”
Afoa, 38, who was on punditry duty for Channel 4 on Saturday, is preparing for life after being a player and is balancing his final season on the pitch with duties as Bristol’s scrum coach.
McPhillips said: “John’s worked closely with him and looked at him as a hooker and a loosehead but they believe with his physique, mindset and mentality that tighthead is the best position for him.”
■ England will be invoking the spirit of their front row ‘Fight Club’ in the hope of subduing South Africa’s forward assault when the rivals clash at Twickenham on Saturday.
Injury and an outbreak of coronavirus have combined to deplete Eddie Jones’ resources at prop and hooker with Ellis Genge and Jamie George ruled out of the 2019 World Cup final rematch.
Joe Marler’s 10-day spell in selfisolation ends tomorrow and he is expected to be involved against the Springboks in some capacity 24 hours later, leaving Bristol Bears’ Kyle Sinckler as the only seasoned campaigner standing.
The crisis means 23-year-old Jamie Blamire, who has scored six tries in four Tests but has made only three starts for his club Newcastle, is likely to pack down in the number two jersey with the uncapped Nic Dolly offering cover from the bench.
At loosehead Bevan Rodd, 21, will win a second cap after acquitting himself well on his Test bow when acting as emergency cover against the Wallabies as the established looseheads recovered from Covid.
Forwards coach Matt Proudfoot has revealed the props and hookers in Eddie Jones’ squad have their own training cadre and it was when Blamire was exposed to ‘Fight Club’ for the first time in July that his international pedigree emerged.
“Like for every front-row forward, it’s about what is inside the man. That’s what we look for firstly,” Proudfoot said. “That’s what we identified in Jamie - as having a strong character and having a lot of personal fight. When he came into camp early, in the summer, we chucked him in what we term the Fight Club and the way he ripped in was really promising.”
He added: “South Africa have proved over the last two years that they are the best side in the world and they deserve that title. You can either face it or back away from it.
“Our mindset is to go straight at it, to confront it, go head on and not back away from it. I’m confident that those young guys will play with every bit of passion and enthusiasm that they have.”
■ England’s George Ford will join Sale Sharks for the 2022/23 Gallagher Premiership season. The fly-half, capped by England on 77 occasions, has signed a three-year deal. Ford, 28, will now leave Leicester Tigers following his second stint with the club. Ford also made almost 100 apprearances for Bath Rugby between 2013-17.