CONNACHT COACH PAT Lam paid tribute to his walking wounded as they made it seven wins from seven games at the Sportsground this season.
They managed to maintain their position at the top of Pool 1 in the Challenge Cup with a third win in a row in the competition despite having 22 players out through injury.
Even the pre-match loss of skipper Tiernan O’Halloran did not thwart them as they finished strongly to win 25-10 over Newcastle Falcons.
“I am very, very proud of the guys, it has just been horrendous, the injuries. Then we lost Tiernan O’Halloran. We had Matt Healy, who has never played full back, operating at this level.
Then we had six academy in there too and they all acquitted themselves well.
“The thing I love about this team and these guys is that they are all hungry, they all want to be a part of it. We have always said, clarity of jobs you get out there and show what you can do.
“We had to grind it out, it was a tough game. The conditions, it was pretty soft underfoot. We put some pressure on them and didn’t quite finish things off.
“I thought ‘here we go again, another dog-fight’ and it was. Fairplay to Jack Carty he had a great game and his kicking was good. He kept the scoreboard ticking before we pulled away with that try at the end,” said Lam.
