Pat Lam stresses importance of teamwork ahead of Cardiff clash

After the win over Munster last weekend coach Pat Lam overheard one of his celebrating players talking about having "a big" drink to mark the historic occasion.

“I just turn around and said, ‘You don’t want to play next week?’,” said Lam. “It’s important to keep everything in check because we were sort of around this situation last year. Ultimately it is four points. We move on and we could fall over if we don’t.”

Saturday’s challenge is Cardiff Blues, who have been struggling this season. They will also be missing the Wales captain and one of their most influential players Sam Warburton, who twisted his ankle at the weekend playing against Ospreys.

Although the Lions captain tried to play on he was forced out and could now be sidelined for up to six weeks which, depending how he recovers, could have a bearing on his fitness just a few weeks before Wales face Ireland in their Six Nations Championship opener on February 7th.

Pride

But Lam isn’t deflected by individuals in other teams or his own and takes pride in the

Connacht

squad mentality that renounces any idea of star players. In Lam’s head even the now injured

Robbie Henshaw

falls into that bracket.

“I heard someone talk about the signings that we secured: Tom McCartney wasn’t a regular in Super Rugby. Nepia Fox and Jake Heenan, they weren’t fully professional,” said Lam.

“So it’s not about the stars. Certainly they help. You could give me Dan Carter to run out this week but the thing is the boys don’t know Dan Carter.

"Dan Carter doesn't know what we do as a team so it is a waste of time. It's really about teamwork and what we do as a team." Top of the table Connacht are the polar opposite of Cardiff, who they have already beaten this season in Galway.

Just a couple of weeks ago former Wales and Cardiff player Gareth Thomas feared his former club were falling among the Italian teams as the weakest in Europe. Cardiff are currently 10th in the table with just one win in eight matches.

They have slipped to seven straight defeats: their worst run in the history of the tournament. Connacht have one defeat, to Glasgow in round two, and seven wins in eight games.

“There is a big plan to how I like to play the game,” said Lam. “. . . It is all about the ball and ultimately we want to be a team that can go through a team, around a team or over a team.

“Basically there is all the players’ core jobs but if you have a look, the skills that we get everyone to do, catch pass, running lines, holding lines and the tackling, the ability to tackle well but even the tackle, get on top.

Adapt

“I never want Connacht to be known as a team that kick everything. I don’t want to be known as a team that run wide all the time . . . I want to be known as a team that can adapt and be comfortable to do what it takes to win a game.”

That was evident to John Muldoon even before Connacht began their season. Lam is a believer in playing with the ball. Even before the competitive part of the season began, when fitness was the main priority, the ball was central to all that he was doing.

“From day one when Pat arrived in we had a ball every single day,” said Muldoon.

“We put in long days during the pre-season. I think it surprised a couple of us early doors. Skills for half an hour, 40 minutes after a gym session. It was pretty much a 9-5 job.”

With Connacht now aiming for a first-ever league double over Cardiff, it’s a work ethic already paying dividends.