Lam urges Bears to look beyond survival
Bristol schooled ‘to start thinking like champions’ New name reflects our qualities, says head coach
Ashton Gate will be packed to the rafters tonight as head coach Pat Lam sends his Bristol Bears team out for the West Country derby against Bath with an instruction to “express themselves and show what they have to offer” in the Gallagher Premiership.
There has been no talk of mere survival, no mention of the circle of doom that has afflicted so many promoted clubs – Bristol included, two years ago – that exist in a yo-yo state. For added measure, Lam has also placed great emphasis on the team living up to what was derided initially as a marketing gimmick, the Bears sobriquet – “caring, intelligent and powerful”, as Lam puts it, a suitable encapsulation of the qualities needed.
Bristol, a club with deep rugby roots revitalised in a modern image by the money of billionaire financier Steve Lansdown, have brought a real energy with them, along with several high-profile acquisitions, such as All Black back-row Steve Luatua, former Wallaby flanker George Smith and full-back Charles Piutau (ruled out with a shoulder injury), as they look to open their Premiership account in style.
Lam insists that he has made clear to Lansdown that he wants to be under budget every season. “Think of the money as your own, be accountable,” said Lam. “I can’t stand it when people waste money.”
It promises to be an invigorating evening, a prelude to what is set to be a defining season one way or the other for the Bristol project.
“Our players don’t talk about staying up and survival,” said Lam. “Why? Because I don’t talk about that and Steve [Lansdown] doesn’t talk about that. What we talk about is where we want to be. History shows us that when they were all worried about survival, it didn’t work. If we start thinking, talking and behaving like champions, the chance of us becoming champions goes up. It’s not guaranteed because there is a lot of work to be done, but we have changed the mindset.”
As well as the team’s name. Some people scoffed at Landsdown’s ploy, seeing it as a cheapening of a famous club crest and heritage. In essence, it is neither an insult nor a spur to achievement. It might suit a merchandising agenda, which is wholly legitimate, but it will mean nothing unless the team win. And Lam will draw on everything to make that happen.
A well-travelled, respected figure from his playing days with Western Samoa and trophy-winning stints with Newcastle and Northampton, and then as head coach for those Pro14 champion-claiming upstarts Connacht, Lam believes wholeheartedly in a holistic approach to rugby, as shown when priming the Barbarians side who beat England 63-45 in May. For Lam, it is as much about the heart and soul of a team as it is muscle and bone.
“If Steve had said to me at the start, ‘I want you to win all these games,’ I wouldn’t have come,” said Lam. “The moment he mentioned community to me and inspiring people, well, that’s who I am. The Bears [concept] resonated with me. You can have an animal that will go for the kill every time. But that is not what a bear is about. When it needs to do the damage, it will, to protect its own, to look after its own community. But it has its softer side and that is important to me because that reflects the community.
“When the boys go into hospitals, I don’t want young kids to look at our players and feel that they are intimidating, scary. But when it is time to play rugby, for them to be aggressive and to protect their patch, I want the quality of that bear to be on show. Everything about the bear – powerful, intelligent, caring – I love.”
Premiership clubs are canvassed about who they might want to play at certain times of the year as the schedule is pieced together.
“This is the fixture we all plumped for, Bath first up,” said Lam. “I knew our community would respond to it. But now there is a huge responsibility to perform.”
And Ashton Gate this evening, in front of a record crowd, is the perfect stage.