Pat Lam explains why Bristol left three players out at Saracens

Pat Lam says concerns about Saracens’ artificial pitch led him to leave Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua out of Bristol Bears’ squad for Saturday’s 30–7 defeat.

The Bristol director of rugby pointed to the trio’s previous injuries when explaining his selection at StoneX Stadium.

“They came off big injuries last year and so it wasn’t worth putting them on that pitch,” Lam said, in comments reported by RugbyPass.

Pat Lam explains Bristol selection decision

Lam said Rubiolo, MacGinty and Luatua would have played had the fixture been at home or a semi-final, underlining that their omissions were precautionary.

His explanation centred on managing those players’ individual injury histories and the risk he associated with the surface.

Bristol were also preparing for a Champions Cup trip to face the Stormers in Cape Town. The defeat ended their unbeaten start to the league campaign.

Saracens pull clear after Bristol response

Noah Caluori scored on his return as Saracens established an 11–0 half-time lead.

Harry Randall’s converted try brought Bristol within four points after the interval, but Alex O’Driscoll’s score, a penalty try and Jack Bracken’s finish secured a bonus-point victory for the hosts.

Saracens’ official match report details Caluori’s early breakthrough and the defensive work that kept Bristol scoreless before the break.

Elsewhere in Saturday’s Premiership action, Northampton beat Bath 71–48 in an 18-try contest.

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