Bristol Bears set to turn to the transfer market after injury in key position

Pat Lam and the Bristol Bears recruitment department are scouring the planet for a lock signing following the injury of Josh Caulfield, the club's director of rugby has confirmed to BristolLive.

Caulfield suffered a pectoral injury in the 37-35 defeat to Saracens last month and had surgery to rectify it on Friday. The 27-year-old, who was signed from London Irish and has flourished since arriving at Ashton Gate, is expected to be sidelined for around three months.

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Bristol headed into the season with an incredibly thin squad, so injuries to Caulfield, summer signing Steele Barker and young George Taylor leaves Lam incredibly short of options in the engine room with three locks required in every matchday squad.

Discussing the situation, the Bears director of rugby said: “We are going to the market, the recruitment team are busy on it at the moment. Losing three locks long-term puts a strain on us. We have got coverage there in James Dun and Joe Batley, but the two of them have done a lot of work this season already.

"Bill Mata is not too far away from returning from his hamstring injury as well, he has played in the row before, Stevie Luatua has played in the row before, but Santi Grondona is off with Argentina over the Autumn. It is not just about the games, it is about the quality of training when you have this many players injured, so Gethin Watts [Bristol’s head of recruitment] is all over it.”

Lam has used the first two rounds of the Premiership Rugby Cup to give further opportunities to the club's up-and-coming young locks with Joe Owen leading the way, but the lack of options in the second row was clear to see last weekend with Kenzie Jenkins making just his second senior appearance in the 78-19 defeat to Bath alongside former academy player Peter Paramore who returned to the club as a guest player to make his senior debut.

Discussing the progression of 23-year-old Owen, Lam said: "He is just going from strength to strength, I am really pleased with Joe. He was superb against Bedford and he backed it up with another big performance against Australia. He is getting more physical in contact and he is a real athlete, he is developing nicely."

The beauty of the Bears smaller squad is Lam still has considerable room within the salary cap to be able to bring in additional recruits, if and when they are required, as seen with winger Toby Fricker who re-joined the club in October to cover injuries in the three-quarters, and more new faces look inevitable heading into a crucial block of games through the winter months with the Champions Cup set to kick off in December.