Pat Lam admits he’s tracked Magnus Bradbury’s career for the nine years before the time was right to bring him to Bristol Bears where the Scotland international has made an instant impact.
Bradbury was an under-the-radar signing for the Bears this summer, not possessing the same gravitas or profile as Ellis Genge, AJ MacGinty or even Gabriel Ibitoye given the previous hype around him, but that has suited the 27-year-old fine as he’s made a seamless transition from the Pro-12 to the Premiership.
The former Edinburgh back-rower has been an influential figure on both sides of the ball as a devastating ball-carrier from No8 but also ferocious tackler, getting through considerable amounts of work and scoring tries against Bath and Wasps.
The genesis of the decision to bring him to Ashton Gate began during the 2014/15 season, when a then-18-year-old Bradbury was just making his first few steps in the professional game for Edinburgh, playing against Connacht in the Pro-12, with Lam an intrigued observer.
“Myself, John Muldoon, Jordan Crane - we’re all No8s; we know who the good ones are,” Lam said. “When we were looking at it, myself and John Muldoon and Connor McPhillips when we were at Connacht, we played Edinburgh when he came on the scene as an 18-year-old. And I thought, ‘wow, where has this kid come from?’
“He’s now older, he’s bigger, more experienced, capped as a Scottish player. What I saw as an 18-year-old, we’ve now got a better version of him. I’ve tracked him. All those guys in the Pro-12 who impressed me, I keep an eye on them and still keep an eye on the league. He’s been someone who works really hard."
Bradbury has fitted into the Bears system, almost intuitively appearing in the right place at the right time and most importantly making an impact when the ball finds his hands, with almost constant gain line success.
The Scotsman is athletic enough to be highly effective running the wide channels as the Bears attack is created to do, but deceivingly powerful enough to win the physical contest at close range with defences set and ready.
It's been a change of environment and demands for the Glasgow-born forward, allowing him to display the more expressive and offensive side to his game.
“When I sat and talked to him, he’d been at Edinburgh his whole career, and he wanted change, a difference to the way of playing. He wanted to feature more in the open field because he does the donkey work really well," Lam added. “I think also, when I met him, I realised his character, his personality and what he wants to achieve - he’s a winner and he’s fitted in really well here.”
Bradbury will make his fourth straight Premiership appearance against Newcastle Falcons on Friday night as they look to further extend their winning run having been victorious in the opening three fixtures, their best start to a campaign since 1999.
