Pat Lam appointed as new Connacht head coach

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013011283162/pat-lam-appointed-to-head-coach

The 44 year old has accepted a two year contract with the option to extend for a further period. Lam represented the All Blacks in a tour match before going on to captain Samoa in a distinguished playing career which included spells with Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints where he lifted the Heineken Cup.
His coaching career includes a successful spell at Auckland in the New Zealand Provincial Championship from 2005-9 where he won the ***le in 2005 and 2007 before he went on to head up the Auckland Blues in the Super 15. Under Lam the Blues achieved their best finish for several years in 2011 reaching the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners the Queensland Reds. He has also been involved at international level as a consultant to both Scotland and Samoa, most recently on the Pacific Islanders highly successful UK tour late last year when they claimed the scalps of both Wales and Canada which saw them make the top eight of the IRB World Rankings.
Chief Executive Tom Sears said:
“The appointment of our next coach is a huge decision for Connacht Rugby and at the end of an extensive process we are delighted to be able to appoint Pat Lam.
“The position attracted worldwide interest enabling us to select from an incredibly strong field and we are convinced Pat has all the qualities and credentials to take Connacht forward. Allied to his experience and technical expertise he displayed an excellent knowledge of Connacht, of where we are, what we aim to achieve, the obstacles we face and how we can ultimately achieve our objective of becoming one of the leading sides in European rugby.
“Throughout the selection process Pat displayed a real affinity to what Connacht Rugby means and that was crucial to us. He will no doubt bring about progressive changes but he is also extremely committed to retaining and building on the qualities that make Connacht unique.â€
Pat Lam said:
“My family and I are truly blessed to have another opportunity to be part of a new community and country and we are looking forward to the exciting challenge ahead at Connacht.
“I was very impressed by the Board’s vision for Connacht Rugby and the fighting spirit of the team and supporters to persevere against all the odds. I'm looking forward to working with good people to build on the great work that Eric has done."
Pat Lam will take up the role of Head Coach, commencing June 1st​ 2013. Eric Elwood will remain in the position for the remainder of the 2012/13 season.

Connacht finally get their man after a selection process fraught with problems. Apparently the IRFU vetoed Connacht interviewing Eddie O'Sullivan and both Sean Holley and Alex King were offered the job but turned it down.

While Lam has his detractors, his pedigree alone (as a player and having coached at Super Rugby and international level) shows Connacht are going places.

 

[jkUNCAcap]

Connacht are definitely making moves so far this year. Haven't watched this guy play, but if his bio's anything to go on, great news for the team.

Connacht Rugby has captured a major international signing for the 2013/14 season to further strengthen the forward pack.New Zealand born lock Craig Clarke, 29, who captained the Waikato Chiefs to the Super XV ***le last season, has signed a three year deal with the Irish province.
The 6 ft 7 in second row was outstanding in the Chiefs successful campaign last year and picked up the coveted trophy when he led his side in the 37-6 demolition of the Sharks in the final. His consistent, high class performances saw him pick up a string of accolades including nominations as one of three finalists for the 'Super Rugby player of the year' at the 2012 New Zealand Rugby Awards, selection for the Super XV team of the year and the Chiefs award for Players' Player of the Year.
Because of his form throughout the Super Rugby season last year, the Chiefs skipper was also called into the All Blacks training squad. Clarke has turned out 57 times for the Chiefs and has also captained Taranaki during the 2011 ITM Cup.
Born in Masterton, at the southern tip of New Zealand's north island, Clarke initially made his mark with Canterbury and the Crusaders before moving to Taranaki in 2007. He played a single season with the Hurricanes before joining the Chiefs, where his leadership credentials became apparent.
Clarke represented the Junior All Blacks in their 2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup campaign, his debut coming against Samoa. He then started against Japan where he scored a try for the side.
Connacht Rugby CEO Tom Sears said:
"We are absolutely delighted with this key signing - it is a major coup for Connacht. This is something we have been working towards for some time now and the fact a player of Craig's calibre has chosen to commit to Connacht is a clear sign of the progress we have made and our intent going forward.
"Our coaching staff is delighted to have Craig on board, he has all of the qualities we are looking for on and off the field and we have no doubt that he will be a major influence for Connacht in the seasons to come. With a three year deal Craig has shown he really believes in what we are doing and the potential we have. After leading the Chiefs to the Super XV ***le last season Craig certainly wasn't short of options – he has chosen Connacht because he wants to be a part of what is happening here.
"Our squad recruitment and retention programme for next season has gone very well. We still have a number of areas we are working on but this is a key part of the plan that has fallen into place."

http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013021883213/connacht-sign-second-row-craig-clarke

 

[Feicarsinn]

Connacht are definitely making moves so far this year. Haven't watched this guy play, but if his bio's anything to go on, great news for the team.



http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013021883213/connacht-sign-second-row-craig-clarke

Yeah, there was a lot of talk that Connacht were after a high enough standard foreign lock following the loss of McCarthy, so it's good to see they got someone handy enough.

He's not capped is he?

 

[big ginger 8]

That is an excellent Clarke was really brilliant last year very good replacement for McCarthy.

 

[Scan]

He's not capped is he?

Nope. Hmmmm, Clarke, Irish name. As big a fan as I am of him, I'd rather Kidney didn't pick him though (if he's eligible, anyone know?). Still, very impressive signing for Connacht. Surprised he didn't have any offers from some bigger clubs to be honest. Top player.

 

[big ginger 8]

Nope. Hmmmm, Clarke, Irish name. As big a fan as I am of him, I'd rather Kidney didn't pick him though (if he's eligible, anyone know?). Still, very impressive signing for Connacht. Surprised he didn't have any offers from some bigger clubs to be honest. Top player.

Pretty sure the Junior All Blacks are their second team so NIQ.

 

[Groundhog]

Jesus that's a great signing for Connacht, I have no idea about the coach though. Anyone want to tell me how Lam is as a coach?

 

[big ginger 8]

Jesus that's a great signing for Connacht, I have no idea about the coach though. Anyone want to tell me how Lam is as a coach?

Led to Blues to their worst ever season last year.

 

[Darwin]

Clarke is a very good signing. He does the basics really well, and has excellent leadership skills - he is a massive loss for the Chiefs. He was actually pretty close to the All Blacks squad at the end of the last Super Rugby season, but a knee injury late in the Super Rugby season may have cost him a spot in the squad.

As has been mentioned Clarke has played for the Junior All Blacks, so isn't eligible for Ireland.

 

[nickdnz]

I have to agree that I don't know why in hell Clarke would join Connacht. Was arguably the most consistent and influential lock in Super Rugby last season, co-captaining the Chiefs to their first ***le. He's not able to play for Ireland because of being capped by the Jr AB's, so he won't be like Nathan White...It doesn't make sense, surely he'd be better off either staying at the Chiefs or earn big bucks in France...

That is unless Ireland is actually trying to turn Connacht into anything other than a feeding ground for the big three.

Jesus that's a great signing for Connacht, I have no idea about the coach though. Anyone want to tell me how Lam is as a coach?

Put it this way. Between losing Anscombe to Ulster, Penny to Munster and Schmidt to Leinster - I can at least feel Ireland has done us one favour.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I don't think Pat Lam is a bad coach - he also took the Blues to a sem final. The hate towards him last year was completely over the top.

 

[Tribesmen-ce-123]

Not too sure about what we're going to get when Lam come's in as coach, but im hoping he has a positive influence and allows us to play a good brand of rugby. On the one hand ive heard he had a very poor tenure as the blues coach, but he's got more experience than Elwood had when he started here, so he could help develop this young team well.

If we can a sign one or two more like Craig Clarke, we will be well on the way to improving our results. Guys like him won't be content with mediocre finishes on the table's, and the occasionally good wins and performances. He'll want the consistent results he's used to. Attitudes like this are good for the club in general, because we've had too much of this downbeat underdog attitude for years now, and its not done our performances any good.

But the least the futures looking brighter for Connacht. The team over here have managed to stop the revolving door for players going in and out every year. And we've also signed most of our young home grown talent to extended contracts We've had a good win today away against the Cardiff Blue's, and hopefully we can get a few more good results in the league to set up our best ever league finish. Hopefully build on it next year to. Looking forward to the coming years at the club anyways though.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

If we can a sign one or two more like Craig Clarke, we will be well on the way to improving our results. Guys like him won't be content with mediocre finishes on the table's, and the occasionally good wins and performances. He'll want the consistent results he's used to. Attitudes like this are good for the club in general, because we've had too much of this downbeat underdog attitude for years now, and its not done our performances any good.

This is the crux of it.

No offence is meant by this but Connacht have had a losing attitude for too long which they're finally addressing since appointing their new player advisory group. Too often they were content to serve up dross all season once they performed well against the other Irish provinces, especially at home. This became increasingly prevalent under Michael Bradley's watch.

I believe Connacht are now beginning to follow the same path as Ulster albeit on a smaller scale. Ulster's turnaround began when they started introducing top class player's (Pienaar, Muller, Botha, Afoa, Payne) who were used to high standards and winning at all levels. Their winning attitude influenced their hugely talented bunch of homegrown youngsters and Ulster have profited. While Connacht don't have the same budget, in Nathan White and Craig Clarke, they have a couple of experienced pros with captaincy experience who are used to winning. Dan Parks as a multicap international demands higher standards than Connacht were used to even if he has plenty of faults. Pat Lam has pedigree and name recognition that Eric Elwood didn't.

Connacht have now created a strong leadership group to influence their up and coming young players. Give it maybe three years and they'll be on a level footing with the other three provinces in my opinion.

 

[Feicarsinn]

One thing that has yet to be mentioned is the fact that all four provinces will now have coaches from New Zealand next year. Personally I don't see this as a negative. Leinster have seen a huge improvement in terms of ball handling ability under Schmidt. Ulster seem to be playing better, while Munster are making some progress, albeit more slowly than the others. An over all increase in the playing skills of all four provinces can only be good for the national side, as will having the four provinces playing a similar style of game.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Yeah, where coaches come from isn't important.What is important is having coaches in place who can get the most out of their players. Joe Schmidt and Mark Anscombe are doing that, Rob Penney is struggling to implement change but his track record stands to him and hopefully Pat Lam can have a positive influence on Connacht's skill levels.