Bristol Bears could well be very reliant on a little used squad member in 2020/21.
Today England head coach Eddie Jones called up a trio of Bristol players to the England senior squad to prepare for Sunday’s Quilter Cup match against the Barbarians.
England regulars Kyle Sinckler and Ben Earl were always expected to link up with the national side this autumn but the impressive form of fly-back or fly-half Max Malins has not gone unnoticed by Jones and the on loan Saracens back has also joined the senior squad for the first time.
He comes in as George Ford has withdrawn from the squad with a pre-existing Achilles issue.
Meanwhile Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd have both linked up with the Welsh senior squad for the first time after it was finally confirmed earlier today the Bears' season is over with Wasps being given the green light to play Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership final on Saturday.
Bristol had been on standby to replace Wasps after there was a minor Covid-19 outbreak at the club but Tuesday’s testing confirmed there were no new cases at the Coventry-based side, allowing them to rightfully take their place in the final having beaten the Bears 47-24 in the play-offs.
While it seems unlikely given the competition they face, should Sheedy, Lloyd and Malins all remain with their respective national sides throughout the Autumn then Bears director of rugby Pat Lam will have to prepare to start the new season against Wasps on November 22 without his first, second and third choice fly-half.
The same will also be true of full back should Charles Piutau’s Achilles injury still see him sidelined.
That situation would leave Tiff Eden as Bristol’s sole senior fly-half option with integrated academy member Tom Wilstead to provide cover having been involved with England U18s this year.
Lam certainly has faith in 26-year-old Eden, handing him a contract extension in January 2020, having originally joined the club from Greene King IPA Championship side Nottingham in the summer of 2018.
Eden's first season at the club was a right-off after missing most of the campaign through injury after breaking his sternum, tearing his oblique and having a disc irritation in his back.
The following year fly-half kicked 19 points without missing in a 44-27 victory over London Irish in the Premiership Cup in October, 2019, but made just two appearances for the club during the 2019/20 campaign, as well as spending time on loan with Championship Hartpury.
Eden is an able player but with Bristol having aspirations to better this season’s third place finish in the Premiership table and be competing in the Heineken Champions Cup for the first time in 13-years, it will be a huge step up for the squad man to be running the attack.
Bristol will also be without star centre Semi Radradra for the start of the new campaign with the Fijian called-up to the national side.
There are other clubs who will have more players missing this but few hit so significantly in one position.
Following the Quilter Cup, which is live on Sky Sports Arena, England will travel to Rome to face Italy in the final round of the delayed 2020 Guinness Six Nations on Saturday 31 October (4.45pm GMT KO).
England will then play four matches as part of the Autumn Nations Cup.
The final three fixtures of the new competition will coincide with Bristol’s opening three games of the new Gallagher Premiership season, when they will face Wasps, Worcester Warriors and Northampton Saints before kicking off their European campaign.
