Sheedy and Malins back in contention for big Bristol clash
I’ve just loved watching these guys go from young rugby players to dads and good men
BRISTOL Bears, remarkably, have close to a clean bill of health heading into tomorrow’s titanic potential play-off showdown with Saracens.
Saracens, in second, come to fourth-placed Bristol at Ashton Gate in the penultimate round of the Gallagher Premiership with just two league points separating the sides, and the Bears head into the tie buoyed by positive injury updates. Star England full-back Max Malins and Wales international fly-half Callum Sheedy are both off the club’s unavailable list, having missed the incredible 21-19 comeback win over Leicester Tigers nearly a fortnight ago.
Revealing the reason for Sheedy’s absence, Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said: “That’s because he’s now a proud father. He’s a proud father of a young boy. We’re over the moon for him and Charlotte. I think probably the growth of this team is how many children we have in our team at the moment, it has been phenomenal. I’ve just loved watching these guys go from young rugby players to dads and good men.”
Sheedy is unlikely to start on Saturday with USA international AJ MacGinty excelling in the No 10 jersey, but his availability to potentially take a place on the bench comes as a boost.
Bigger still is the news that former Saracen Malins is fit to return to the 15 jersey having recovered fully from a number of minor knocks.
Lam explained: “We had a sixday turnaround after our game against Newcastle and he took a few knocks, it was a pretty fast and physical game, and with that sixday turnaround he was probably a day short. If the game had been on the Sunday he would have been ready but when you have got quality in depth, I will always back the guys who are ready to go and I thought Rich Lane did a great job when he stepped in and now Max is fully fit again.”
There is also positive news in the highly-competitive centres, with Lam confirming Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who looks set to be crowned the Gallagher Premiership player of the month for April after a series of barnstorming displays, is in the selection mix this weekend despite having left the
game early against Leicester following a HIA check.
Lam explained: “He actually passed his HIA and was ready to come back in but by that stage the boys were in full flow and it was good because AJ was back on the field and landed the kick to win it.”
Discussing the high level of availability in his squad at the business end of the season, Lam said: “I want to give a huge credit, a shout out to our medical team and our RTP team, led by Adam Roberts (head of medical services) and Kev Geary (head of athletic performance). “The work we’ve been able to do and the amount of players we have, we’re pretty much full strength. The only guy not available for selection, and he’s still on track, but he’s coming back from a longterm injury, is Santiago Grondona and he’s back training.”