Lamb’s looking to add spice to Albion attack
RYAN LAMB has swapped coaching in the Championship for National One but is delighted to be at a club “with a bright future”.
The former Gloucester favourite left Hartpury and joined Damian Welch’s coaching team at Plymouth Albion as attack coach this summer and hopes to contribute to the club’s revival.
When the fly-half played against Albion for Pertemps Bees at the start of his career back in 2005, Albion were a force to be feared in the Championship, attracting crowds of up to 5,000 for big local derbies, and on the same footing as county rivals Exeter.
But financial problems led to relegation and the club going into administration and it was only after the club was taken over, for a second time, that things began to stabilise.
Now, under the direction of owner David Venables and his son and CEO, Max, Albion are planning on getting back into the Championship in the nottoo-distant future.
“When I spoke to Damian, he told me it is a proper rugby club with a lot of history and it is exciting to be a part of that,” Lamb told TRP.
“That’s where we want to get back to. I am not too sure what happened with the club off the field over the last five years but it had some problems. With the Venables family coming in, there is definitely a bright future.
“We’ve signed some really good boys and we want to build on that. It is going to take a year or two to get a squad in place to be challenging but the ultimate goal is to be back in the Championship and competing at the top end. It is a nice project to be involved with.”
During his 11 years in the Premiership with five different clubs – hometown Gloucester, London Irish, Northampton, Leicester and Worcester – Lamb came across Welch fairly often.
And the 35-year-old is glad to be finally working with the former Chiefs enforcer, not against him.
“When he was at Scarlets, I can remember some big games playing for Northampton and La Rochelle. When he went to Exeter, I had quite a few ding-dong battles with him there as well.
“He was a bit like Courtney Lawes; he used to fly out of the line. He is 6ft 7ins with massive, long arms so you felt you had no chance to get around him. I used to try and get the ball away pretty quick if he was in front of me!
“Damian, below centre, is a young ambitious coach and it is nice to be working with someone who has just finished playing like myself, to bounce ideas off. He is really good to work with and, hopefully, it is the start of bigger things.
One thing we clicked on straight away was that it should be the players who drive the culture, especially on how we play.
“I know from being a player if we were going into games and I felt the tactics we were taking didn’t suit our team or the way we liked to play, it was difficult. You do it but it is hard to buy into, and you might be a bit hesitant.
“The players on the field ultimately have the main responsibility but you give them a framework to go through and show them different scenarios to make sure you’re picking the right options. If you empower the squad as much as you can, I think you’ll reap the benefits on game day.”
As a player, Lamb always played with a smile on his face and was never afraid to try different things. Playing coast-tocoast rugby whenever possible was his thing so a seaside destination suits him down to the ground.
“I’ve always wanted to be down in the Devon/Cornwall area,” said the father-of-two. “When we were in La Rochelle, we loved living by the coast. We loved that type of lifestyle where it is a bit slower and more community based and Plymouth fitted in with that.”
Lamb racked up over 200 top-level league appearances in England, France and, right at the end of his career, with Scarlets in Wales.
Sam
Hatching a plan: Ryan Lamb, left, and Albion MD Max Venables Vesty and Brad Mooar are two coaches he has taken a lot from in terms of delivery of message. “Sam, when we were at Worcester, was really, really good. He was very simple in his messages but through that, I think you get a lot more clarity. So I learnt a lot through him.
“Brad Mooar at Scarlets was fantastic as well. He opened my eyes on manmanagement and what you do with players off the field. You pick little things up and drills and mainly tactics but I have got my way that I like to play the game, especially in attack.
“We had a lot of success at Hartpury. I think we were fourth-highest points scorers (average per game) in the league. I was really, really pleased with the buy-back. Hartpury was a really good experience because I was coaching at lots of different levels and stages of their careers – my main priority was attack and backs coach for the Championship team but I did have a foot in with the Uni team and U18s.”
Lamb retired from playing once his short-term contract with Scarlets came to an end in March 2020 but he’s due to lace up the boots again for back-toback charity matches in September, including a Gloucester Legends v Bristol Legends fundraiser for his old Cherry & Whites team-mate, Jack Adams, who passed away in June.
A full-time return to playing, however, has been ruled out. “I miss game days, but I don’t miss the training,” he says. “I could have played on but I didn’t want to be the guy hanging on, I wanted to finish on my terms.
“At first, I didn’t think I would go be a coach but I thought I’d give it a go and I really enjoyed it. I enjoy seeing players buying into what you are trying to do and enjoying their rugby, that’s the most rewarding thing.”