Bristol Bears have moved to strengthen their options at scrum half by signing former Wasps back Will Porter with immediate effect.
The 23-year-old represented Wasps 58 times, scoring four tries, before being made redundant along with the rest of the club's squad earlier this month when the Coventry side went into administration.
England international number nine Randall had surgery on his injured hamstring two weeks ago and is expected to be sidelined until early in 2023. In his absence, Lam has Andy Uren, Tom Whiteley and Oscar Lennon to call upon, but he remains unconvinced by the latter two options as regular Premiership players for the club.
Uren recently signed a new three-year contract extension at the Bears and crowned the announcement with a huge performance off the bench in the 31-28 defeat to Gloucester last weekend, when Whiteley was hooked off after 32 minutes.
Speaking after that match, Bristol director of rugby Lam, said: “I’m really pleased for Andy because he started rather slowly this year and we had a really good honest talk about it because he had to fight for that position,
"He was left out last week [against Exeter] but then Harry has that big injury so there has been some honest conversations. The things that we have been looking for from him; being decisive, being fast on his delivery and being more accurate on the things he has been doing, he did today.
"It is important that he never takes anything for granted, he might have played over 100 games, been here the longest, but you have got to perform.
"Tom is a class player but it wasn’t his best performance today. I did it to Andy in the Championship, and I pulled Harry Randall in the first half too a few years ago, nine is a really important position for us and so its about making sure they are the big link in our game and I am sure Tom will bounce back. Our game is based around our system and the quality of the service and kicking is huge. That’s what Andy brought."
Explaining the signing of Porter, Lam said: “With the long-term injury to Harry Randall, we needed some cover at scrum-half and we’re pleased to bring in an exciting player of Will’s quality.
“He’s someone we’ve been impressed by when we have come up against him and he will add great competition in a key position for us.”
Porter started against Bristol earlier this season in the Bears' 23-8 victory at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Porter added: “I’m really excited to be joining Bristol and I can’t wait to get started with the team. I’m grateful for the opportunity and excited for the rest of the season.”
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