Bristol Bears Head to Sale Without 18 Players

Bristol Bears will travel to Sale Sharks on Friday night for their Round Three Premiership Rugby Cup fixture with a thin squad. The Bears face the Sharks at the CorpAcq Stadium with 18 senior players unavailable. These absences include 11 starters who missed last weekend's league loss to Leicester Tigers due to international duties and at least seven others sidelined by injury.

Head coach Pat Lam is managing the smallest senior squad in the Premiership. The absence of key players limits selection options for the Bears. The team has a bye in Round Four next weekend, which provides a brief reprieve before the next scheduled match.

Eleven players are away on international duty this weekend. Ellis Genge and Harry Randall are with England. Fitz Harding, Joe Batley, and George Kloska are with England A, which plays Argentina XV at the Rec. Benjamin Grondona may join the touring side. Pedro Rubiolo is named for the Pumas, while Matias Moroni is in the wider squad but not playing this weekend.

Louis Rees-Zammit is with Wales, Tom Jordan is with Scotland, and Luka Ivanishvili is on Georgia duty. Veteran fly-half AJ MacGinty has joined the US Eagles camp to train and advise. He will not play in their Test matches as the 36-year-old targets a place at next year's Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Two players may return from injury lists for the match. Prop Max Lahiff has been rehabbing a foot and ankle injury. Number eight Khalik Kareem, a summer signing from Worcester Warriors, has a complex foot injury and has yet to make his debut. Defense coach Jordan Crane said both have returned to training and should be ready or thereabouts this month.

Crane stated that the squad picked for Sale is good despite the international absences. He emphasized that the competition is for creating squad depth and trust. He added that if someone is coming into the second row, they must play like Pedro Rubiolo, chasing the ball with the same effort. The Bears beat Gloucester 43-40 in their opening cup game but lost 45-21 away at Exeter Chiefs.

Pat Lam said the team wants to win first and foremost. He noted that some players have had heavy workloads in the first five Premiership games and the Champions Cup. He indicated that academy players need game time. The Bears play Bath at Ashton Gate on November 20, their other fixture in this block.