CULTURE CLUB
Keane did not learn lessons from Lam
YESTERDAY was moving day in the intimate world of Irish professional rugby and there was a common theme running through the comings and goings — getting the culture right.
First, there was confirmation that Dan McFarland would be taking over at Ulster and then the story broke that Kieran Keane would be leaving Connacht, one year into a three-year contract.
The stories are intertwined under the banner of creating the correct culture — within the respective provinces and with their working relationship with the IRFU.
There had been rumours doing rounds on Keane’s unhappy tenure out west, how players were struggling to adjust to the Kiwi’s personality, described variously as ‘dour’, ‘taciturn’ and ‘spiky’ — with unfavourable comparisons drawn with Pat Lam, his open, emotional and engaging predecessor.
When Lam took over Connacht in 2013, he made it his priority to create a positive defined culture around the team.
He travelled to all parts of the province spreading the word and trying to energise and increase the fan base while concurrently working on the culture within the squad, believing greater bonding and unity of purpose would lead to greater success on the pitch. This manifested itself in daily handshakes and greetings ‘as Gaelige’ as well as numerous meetings and bonding sessions as Lam doggedly pursued his culture-first policy. There was a degree of eye-rolling at the start, especially when results continued to be inconsistent over Lam’s first two seasons but the players bought into it all enthusiastically and when the coach’s tactical policies kicked in, Connacht flourished to the point of landing their first trophy — the 2016 Pro12 title. Apparently, the players did not buy in at all to the Keane approach. Described as ‘the perfect fit’ when his appointment was announced by CEO Willie Ruane, Keane’s coaching credentials in New Zealand were impressive and the pitch was that Connacht had found the ideal man to carry on the success and philosophies instilled by Lam.
The problem was they were very different personalities and while Keane had the rugby knowledge to be effective, he lacked Lam’s empathy to make it count.
The word coming out of the Sportsground was that, never mind the handshakes and hugs of the Lam era, the players would do well to get a greeting of any variety from the Kiwi, who turned 64 in February.
The warning signs were there less than a month into his tenure after Keane gave an incredibly awkward and tetchy post-match interview to Graham Simmons of Sky Sports last September.
Lam had gone out of his way to develop a positive relationship with the media during his time but Keane, although there were concerted efforts to be more outgoing, was unused and unsuited to front-of-house duties and it showed.
The result is that he was afforded far less leeway than Lam received when results were bad.
Last Saturday emphasised how much of an opportunity lost this season was for Connacht.
Even though Leinster rested their frontliners ahead of the European Champions Cup final on May 12, they still travelled to Galway with Grand Slam-winners in Jack McGrath, Andrew Porter, Joey Carbery and Jack Conan, alongside quality performers like Ross Byrne and James Lowe.
Yet Connacht, desperate to provide a fitting send-off for their longtime leader and legend John Muldoon, blew Leinster away — the 47-10 final scoreline showing just how potent a force these players can be when they are suitably motivated.
And that was where Keane came up short. It was not the performance of a team playing for their coach, it was a team playing for their departing friend and colleague.
Just as Connacht need the correct culture to prosper, so too do Ulster and the culture around Ravenhill has been toxic for some time now.
McFarland, although not a name to set the pulses of Ulster fans racing judging on yesterday’s reaction, is a canny appointment and one that has the imprint of the IRFU all over it.
As it should. Based on recent events, Ulster need minding and their consistent turning to the southern hemisphere for salvation was not producing the desired effects. McFarland is a no-frills, down to earth, hard-working character unlikely to be turned by politics or pretension.
Grounded from years in Connacht, he also understands the importance of a healthy culture having worked alongside Lam and then the equally culture-driven coach Gregor Townsend, who rated McFarland highly enough to bring him first to Glasgow and then Scotland.
Ulster look like they could have the right man to start repairing the damage of recent times, Connacht need to find the right man to rediscover the right environment that worked so well in the Lam era.
Both need to realise that culture comes first.