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Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam has pushed for a rule change in the PREM Rugby Cup after counting the cost of their first two games against Gloucester and Exeter Chiefs.
Fullback Noah Heward (knee), prop Max Lahiff (foot) and lock Joe Batley (ankle) face spells on the sidelines after injuries sustained in the PREM Cup games.
Lam says every director of rugby in the league wants to be allowed to use 30-man matchday squads for the first two rounds of the competition while they get their players up to speed for the long season ahead.
He admits that, if the rules are not changed, clubs would be better off playing friendlies or even starting the Gallagher PREM season in the first week of September.
“A lot of us talked about it after last year. We wanted to have 30-man squads at this stage. Obviously, we would appreciate a calendar window, but for the sake of the players, we think we should have 30-man squads in the first two rounds.
“In our first game against Gloucester, take Fitz Harding, we only wanted to play him for 50 minutes and then the injuries came and he had to do 80 minutes. And all the other games there were injuries and cramps.
“All of us DoRs (Directors of Rugby) agree that in the first two games we could have 30-man squads, as we do in the normal pre-season. So ideally we want games, and if we can’t get 30-man squads then we’re better off just having friendlies.
“You can have three halves, three halves etc. I might decide to play Harry Randall for 30 minutes, take him off, put Kieran Marmion on for 30 minutes and bring Max Pepper on for the last 20 minutes.
“But against Gloucester we lost two full-backs so Marmion had to go on the wing and then Harry Randall had to stay on the pitch for 80 minutes and you don’t want that at this stage of the season. Another option to start PREM on September 5,” said Lam.
