PAT LAM MIGHT be preparing Connacht for his Heineken Cup bow as a head coach this week but he knows better than most what it takes to win Europe’s elite club rugby competition.
The New Zealand native — in his first season in charge in Galway — was part of the Northampton side that denied Munster a famous European title win in 2000.
“To be able to play against teams that are the best in the Northern Hemisphere was just massive,” says Lam when asked to recall his memories of the underfire competition.
“I remember right through the pool, just to get out of that was tough, then we just scraped past Wasps, just scraped past Llanelli in injury time, and then we scraped past Munster. I think the biggest thing I remember of that time was seeing some of the guys since and you just look at each other knowing that we’re European Cup winners. It’s something special and when you’re doing it with guys that you live and breathe with 24/7 right through a whole season, it’s pretty special.”
He adds: “It’s a real privilege to be a part of it again. It’s just a wonderful competition, stepped in history and I’m really excited. I think it’s just great to be part of it and all the players and supporters can’t wait for Saracens to arrive next week, and then Zebre and Toulouse. But I think it’s more the eyes of the world on this competition and for Connacht to be part of it is a massive privilege.”
Northampton’s Pat Lam, right, Tim Rodber, centre, and Ben Cohen celebrate with the European Cup after their 9-8 victory over Munster. Pic Pa images
Lam expects a tough start to the campaign with the visit of the table-topping Premiership side to the Sportsgrounds on Friday night.
“I think there’s no doubt that they are humming quite nicely in the Premiership and there’s some quality there,” he says. “It will be an eye-opener and I think the key for us is prepare well, have a real clarity on what we need to do to win and then bring the heart that Connacht’s known for and the dog and the fight into that game.”
Connacht have equipped themselves well in their past forays in the competition; they have four wins in two seasons and have defeated heavyweights, Harlequins and Biarritz. At the moment however, they’re bang out of form, losing to Treviso 23-3 last weekend. What goals does Lam set for the westerners?
“We’re no different to every other team. You want to win games and that’s what it’s about. But it’s the process of doing that and we know we’re the David in this situation against Goliath. That takes you so far, it’s really about working as a team. Even in the four weeks in our competition, we seem to work really hard for our points and teams that are stronger can get those points quite easy. We’ve had so much learnings that have come out of it,” he says.
“We’re please in the way we’re building. It’s just now a case of, we’re on this stage, we have a privilege, we have a responsibility to get out there and front up.”
