Dead Leg’ Semi Upsets Lam

Semi Radradra arrived in Bristol with a dead leg after leading the Flying Fijians to a convincing 38-24 win over Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup clash at Murrayfield on Sunday.
And Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam is going to lodge a complaint with World Rugby blaming the Flying Fijians coaching staff for not replacing Radradra who will sidelined for two or three weeks.
Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer John O’ Connor was unaware of Radradra being injured as he played the whole 80 minutes.
“We’ll have to wait for our medical team’s report,” he said yesterday.
The Bears’ marquee signing, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, will miss Sunday’s game against ASM Clermont Auvergne and the trip away to Lam’s former employers Connacht next week.
“Unfortunately we are disappointed with what has happened with Semi Radradra,”Lam told Bristol Live.
“I watched their game at the weekend and from the first scrum in the game in the first minute he carried the ball and there was a big collision and I knew something was wrong because he was limping after it.
“I watched the game and he limped through the first half and then they heavily strapped his leg at half time.
“Fiji had control of that game and I was watching and he couldn’t chase, he wasn’t going at 100 per cent but they kept him out there for 80 minutes.
“So what turned out to be a dead leg which should have been iced [straight away] and he would have been good to go this week; that 80 minutes of running around turned it into a serious bleed and the leg blew up (swelled) so our medical staff have had to get on top of it.
“We have scanned it and unfortunately he could be out for two, maybe three weeks now.”
A frustrated Lam, who is also missing former All Black Charles Piutua and Wallabies international Luke Morahan to Achilles injuries to leave his backline without some of its most dangerous weapons, continued: “What is disappointing about it is Fiji had that game won early, also I have no doubt in my mind, because Semi told the medical team at halftime he was struggling.
“That if Fiji had been playing another game this week he would have been taken off to be able to play in that game.
“He is a big player for us, a lot of time and resources goes into him and other players here, we will put a formal complaint to World Rugby.
“We are about to go into the Heineken Champion Cup, the reason we have people like Semi is for big games like this, for him not to be there for these games is not ideal.”
Edited by Leone Cabenatabua
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