CONNACHT COACH PAT Lam has admitted that his side were embarrassed by the manner in which they collapsed against Edinburgh in the second half of Friday’s night’s RaboDirect Pro12 fixture.
The former Samoan international hasn’t enjoyed the most successful of starts to his reign at the western province, with just two wins in 11 competitive games so far. However, the 43-10 defeat at Murrayfield was a new low and Lam said it simply wasn’t acceptable.
“We have to apologise to the Connacht supporters because this isn’t what we’re about. Strong messages were said at half time and at the finish by our players. But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what we say if we’re not putting in the performances and getting results.”
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Connacht conceded three tries in the closing seven minutes to round off a depressing evening in Edinburgh, with that frustration intensified by the fact that Connacht had played some good rugby in the first half.
“There’s disappointment and then there’s embarrassment. We started well and had opportunities to score but didn’t. That’s disappointing. But what happened in the last ten minutes, when we let in three soft tries; that’s embarrassing.
“We were playing catch up rugby at that stage and trying desperate things, throwing the ball around. That shouldn’t have happened and we should have been real clear at half time.”
Lam now has a week to turn things around for Connacht, with a trip to Toulouse to come next Sunday in the Heineken Cup. The head coach remains focused on learning from his side’s failings this weekend.
“We have to take the harsh learnings and really front up for the back to back games against Toulouse. No one will give us a chance, and rightly so after that performance. But we have to turn this around and will work so hard to do that.”
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Pat Lam apologies to Connacht fans after Edinburgh loss
CONNACHT COACH PAT Lam has admitted that his side were embarrassed by the manner in which they collapsed against Edinburgh in the second half of Friday’s night’s RaboDirect Pro12 fixture.
The former Samoan international hasn’t enjoyed the most successful of starts to his reign at the western province, with just two wins in 11 competitive games so far. However, the 43-10 defeat at Murrayfield was a new low and Lam said it simply wasn’t acceptable.
“We have to apologise to the Connacht supporters because this isn’t what we’re about. Strong messages were said at half time and at the finish by our players. But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what we say if we’re not putting in the performances and getting results.”
Connacht conceded three tries in the closing seven minutes to round off a depressing evening in Edinburgh, with that frustration intensified by the fact that Connacht had played some good rugby in the first half.
“We were playing catch up rugby at that stage and trying desperate things, throwing the ball around. That shouldn’t have happened and we should have been real clear at half time.”
Lam now has a week to turn things around for Connacht, with a trip to Toulouse to come next Sunday in the Heineken Cup. The head coach remains focused on learning from his side’s failings this weekend.
“We have to take the harsh learnings and really front up for the back to back games against Toulouse. No one will give us a chance, and rightly so after that performance. But we have to turn this around and will work so hard to do that.”
Like rugby? Follow TheScore.ie’s dedicated Twitter account @rugby_ie >
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Guinness PRO12 Connacht Defeat Edinburgh owning up pat lam Toulouse