Pat Lam

Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player, who represented Samoa. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, his usual position as a player was number 8. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby.

Pat Lam

Birth name	Patrick Richard Lam
Date of birth	(1968-09-29) 29 September 1968
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	95 kg (15.0 st; 209 lb)
School	St Peter's College
Notable relative(s)	Dylan Mika (cousin) Ben Lam (nephew)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number 8, Director of Rugby Current team Bristol Bears All Black No. 928 Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1990–1996 Marist Brothers Old Boys () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1997–1998 1998–2001 2001–2002 Newcastle Falcons Northampton Saints Newcastle Falcons 43 54 (45) (100) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1990–1994 1995–1996 Auckland North Harbour 30 16 () Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1996 Crusaders 3 (0) National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1987 1989 1991–1999 1992 2001–2002 New Zealand Schools NZ Colts[1] Samoa New Zealand Barbarians 3 34 6 (0) (25) (25) National sevens team(s) Years Team Comps 1989 New Zealand Teams coached Years Team 2003 2004–2008 2006 2009–2012 2012 2013–2017 2017– Scotland (Assistant) Auckland Pacific Islanders Blues Samoa Connacht Bristol Bears Correct as of 2 March 2018

Playing career

Lam attended St Peter's College, Grafton, and captained the New Zealand Secondary Schools rugby team. He played at loose forward for Auckland, North Harbour and Crusaders, before moving to England where he first played for Newcastle Falcons. In his first season at Newcastle he made 22 appearances as they won the 1997-98 Premiership.[2] However, after that triumph he moved on to Northampton Saints, with whom he won the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup.[3] Lam moved back to Newcastle Falcons for the 2001–02 season, playing with the club for a year before retiring.[4]

Lam played one game for the All Blacks in 1992 (becoming All Black no. 928), a non-test game against Sydney. He had played for Samoa first in 1991 and went on to captain them and represented them in three World Cups, retiring from international rugby after the 1999 tournament. Samoa reached the 1991 and 1995 quarter-finals against expectations.[5]

Lam has also played for the Barbarians. He played in 2002 against England as a replacement, scoring a try. In his second game for the side, Lam captained the team to a victory over Wales, scoring another try in what was his final game before retirement.[6]

Coaching career

Scotland

Lam's first coaching position was as an assistant coach to Scotland at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.[7]

Auckland Blues

He was head coach of Auckland from 2004 until 2008. During his Auckland tenure he also coached the Pacific Islanders in 2006. He was head coach of Super Rugby team the Blues from 2009 to 2012.[8]

Manu Samoa

He worked with Samoa on the team's 2012 tour. Samoa's victories saw it reach eighth in the IRB rankings, and a secure second tier position for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[9][10]

Connacht Rugby

Lam was appointed as head coach of the Pro12 side, Connacht Rugby in Ireland, ahead of the 2013-14 season.[5][11]
On 28 May 2016, Connacht won their first ever major trophy, the 2015–16 Pro12 after a 20–10 win against Leinster in the final.[12]

This brought an end to Lam's stint at Connacht.

Bristol Bears

Lam left Connacht in the summer of 2017 to take up the head coaching role with Bristol Bears. He was later appointed Director of Rugby.[13][14]

Honours

Player

• English Premiership 1998
• Heineken Cup 2000
• RPA players player of the year 2000[15]

Manager

• ITM Cup 2005, 2007
• Pro12 2016
• Honorary Doctorate from NUI Galway, conferred upon him on 17 October 2016[16]

References

1. Patrick Richard Lam at New Zealand Rugby History
2. "Allied Dunbar Premiership, 1997/98 / Newcastle Falcons / Player records". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
3. "Pat Lam hopes to return to Northampton as a coach". BBC News. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
4. "BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | English | Newcastle Falcons". BBC News. 25 August 2002. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
5. "Greatest Rugby World Cup XV: number 8 profiles - Pat Lam". Telegraph. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
6. "Barbarians bounce back". BBC News. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
7. "BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Rugby World Cup | Team Pages | Scotland | Scots are ready insists Lam". BBC News. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
8. "RaboDirect PRO12: Connacht confirm Lam appointment | Live Rugby News". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
9. Chris Foy (15 November 2012). "Lam's back, so it could be the chop for Howley | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
10. Andy Howell (18 November 2012). "Samoan great Pat Lam celebrates another special win over Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
11. "Pat Lam appointed to Head Coach | Connacht Rugby Website". Connachtrugby.ie. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
12. "2016 Pro12 Final: as it happened". The 42. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
13. "Pat Lam to leave Connacht and take up coaching role with Bristol". Irish Independent. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
14. "Pat Lam committed to Bristol regardless of Premiership status". Irish Examiner. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
15. "BBC Sport - Harlequins' Nick Evans wins RPA players' player of year award". Bbc.co.uk. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
16. "Honours for Connacht Rugby Coach at NUI Galway". 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017.

External links

• Pat Lam at AllBlacks.com
• Gray, Wynne (4 July 2008). "Lam calls the shots". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
• "Lam lands Blues job". New Zealand Herald. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.