Bristol Bears’ director of rugby Pat Lam believes artificial pitches are partly to blame for the high number of injuries in the top flight this season.

More than 100 players were unavailable for last weekend’s round of Premiership matches, around 25 per cent, and when England announced their training squad last week, 15 players were not considered because of injury.
“Some are down to bad luck, but there seem to be more injuries than normal,” said Lam. “There is good communication between the medical teams in the Prem with injuries logged in and compared.
“All players would prefer to play on...