Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam says that “freakish” injuries have played their part in his side not making the Prem Rugby play-offs this season.
The Bears are sixth going into the final day, but can’t make the final four after results went against them last weekend.
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A win against Sale on the final day could see the Bears finish inside the top five for the fourth straight season.
The New Zealander told BBC Radio Radio Bristol: “It’s not just the injuries, it’s the availability, we have had players missing six, seven, eight games at a time.
“Two clubs could have two injuries each. One would lose those players for three games, the other loses those players for 20 games between them.
“It’s been pretty freakish, so hopefully we have better luck next season. Unfortunately in sport these things can happen.”
Lam also said that the club had looked through video footage of every single injury, calling many of them “unlikely”.
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“We have data going back nine years, and the medical guys are able to go back and compare everything.
“Every player is different, and every body is different, sometimes it is just bad luck.
“Joe Batley dislocated his thumb lifting a player up when it caught in his shorts, and we lost him for six weeks. We had three players in the space of a couple of weeks get hit in the contact and did their knee or ankle.
“We had a situation with Gab [Oghre] covering back where he jumped to avoid a falling player and twisted his knee on a 4G pitch.
“In the same game, Ben Grondoma went to make a tackle and as he stretched out of his way, someone fell on his arm.”
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‘Chunks of experience’ ready to return
As is so often the case, injuries can also open doors to those waiting in the wings, and Lam has seen a silver lining to having so many stars on the sidelines.
“With the group that we have, all of those who have had game time are now a lot more experienced, so we’ll have a pretty decent squad next season,” he said.
“Joe Owen has had more games than any other player, and that will add so much depth going into next year.”
AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua are also signed up for next year to help share the workload of the more experienced Bears players, many of whom will return when the new season kicks off after the summer.
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An enticing prospect for Lam whenever he has looked over at the sidelines in training in recent weeks.
“[Pedro] Rubiolo will be fit for the start of the season. I looked over during a session the other day and saw Rubiolo, [Gabriel] Oghre, [Steven] Luatua, and [Vilame] Mata all standing together – that’s a big chunk of experience right there.
“Imagine having those boys playing and then the boys who are starting on the bench.”
As for the others on the injury list, Lam confirmed that he expects prop Ellis Genge to be ready for England’s summer camp following the the calf injury he picked up last time out against Bath.
Back-row Fitz Harding broke his hand 10 minutes into last weekend’s derby win at Ashton Gate but does not require surgery over the off-season.
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