Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam is preparing to dunk fellow New Zealander Vern Cotter in hot water with World Rugby, after alleging star player Semi Radradra was not properly treated when he suffered a leg injury while representing Fiji.
Lam is fuming that Radradra appeared to suffer a leg injury early in Fiji’s Eight Nations Cup victory over Georgia in Edinburgh last weekend, but was not replaced by coach Cotter.
Now Lam says he will make a formal complaint to World Rugby over Fiji’s injury management of Bristol’s star player.
The Fiji centre is now set to miss Bristol’s opening two Champions Cup games against Clermont Auvergne and Connacht.
Former All Blacks and Manu Samoa loose forward Lam, who also coached the Blues in Super Rugby, says the situation could have been avoided if Fiji had not kept Radradra on the field for the entire 80 minutes, and believes there was no need for him to stay in the action because it was clear they were going to beat Georgia.
Lam revealed Radradra subsequently suffered “a serious bleed” in his leg and could be sidelined for three weeks.
He alleged Radradra carried the ball into a “big collision’’ in the first minute and when he took a knock to the thigh he should have been granted permission to leave the park and ice it.
“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.
“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.’’
Lam said Fiji should have allowed Radradra to seek treatment instead of participating in the second half.
“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 added.
“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.’’
Lam said Fiji should have allowed Radradra to seek treatment instead of participating in the second half.
“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 added.
“It is something that didn’t need to happen. It was an avoidable situation.”
Radradra joined Bristol earlier this year and he played a key role in them reaching the Premiership play-offs and winning the European Challenge Cup last season.
Cotter is in his first season coaching Fiji. He previously coached in France and was the Scotland coach at the 2015 World Cup.