Bristol to lodge a formal complaint on Radradra's treament

Bristol Bears will lodge a formal complaint to World Rugby over the injury management of Fiji captain Semi Radradra.

Radradra lead his country for the first time on Saturday when the Flying Fijians faced Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup but the box office centre is now set to miss Bristol's Champions Cup ties between Clermont and Connacht. 

Bristol Bears Director of Rugby Pat Lam says that the centre has suffered a leg injury and explained that the situation could have been avoided if Fiji had taken him off the pitch with Radradra subsequently suffering “a serious bleed” in his leg and he could now be sidelined for three weeks.

“In the first minute of that game, Semi carried the ball, there was a big collision and I knew something was wrong because he was limping,” Lam said.

“He pretty much limped through most of that first half, then they heavily strapped his leg.

“Fiji had control of that game, but he couldn’t chase, he wasn’t going at 100 per cent. I thought he would come off, but they kept him out there for 80 minutes.

“What turns out as a dead leg that probably should have been iced and he would have been good to go this week, that 80 minutes of running around turned into a serious bleed when he got here, and the leg blew up.

Fiji cruised to 24-38 victory, a scoreline that looked far more respectable thanks to two tries in the final quarter of the game. Radradra was uncharacteristically quiet in the game making just three carries for 7 metres and three tackles. 

Lam went on to explain that the Bristol medical staff are now on top of the injury after the failures of the Fiji medical staff.

“The (Bristol) medical staff had to get on top of it. We scanned it, and unfortunately it could be two, maybe three weeks, that he is out.

“What’s disappointing about it is that Fiji had that game won early.

“And there is no doubt in my mind, because Semi told the medical team at half-time that he was struggling, that if Fiji were playing another game this week he would have been taken off ready for that game.”

Lam highlighted the impact Radradra's absence will have on the Bristol team and confirmed that the club will lodge a formal complaint. 

Lam added: “We are disappointed. He is a big player for us. We will put in a formal complaint to World Rugby.\

“The reason we have people like Semi is that we sign these sort of guys for these big games – and Bristol are about to go into two weeks of the biggest games in their history so far – and for him not to be there in that sort of situation is not ideal.

“We will talk through the process with World Rugby of why we are disappointed.

“It is something that didn’t need to happen. It was an avoidable situation.”