Lam knows Diamond’s Newcastle will be tough to crack
PAT Lam has told his players to be aware of the Steve Diamond effect when Bristol face Newcastle this afternoon.
The Bears are the Premiership’s in-form side having recovered from a run of five successive defeats to join the jostle for a top-four berth and in such a tight race, a home fixture against the bottom club looks straight from the prescription pad of the rugby doctor.
“Newcastle is all that is in my thoughts,” said Lam. “Steve Diamond has taken them to another level and they will be a threat.
“Everyone on the outside thinks we will win, but we were expected to lose to Northampton and Gloucester in the previous two rounds. It will only happen if we have our minds fixed on the job: when we play as a team we are difficult to beat but when we don’t we can be pretty average.
“We have to understand what Newcastle will bring. We saw what they did to Leicester in the last round in a game that had physicality and niggle. Steve’s teams are always tough and we have to be prepared to work hard.”
Bristol have got their love of thrilling back after changing their style at the start of the season and taking to the air more. It brought them victories over Leicester and Northampton, but five straight defeats left them in the bottom three and owner Steve Lansdown remarked how rugby was boring him.
Lam added: “We were terrible against Connacht in January (in the Champions Cup). Steve said he was bored with the game generally and said that when I arrived here seven years ago he loved what I said I would bring in terms of style.
“He told me not to worry about winning games but to go back and play the way I told him we would. I reflected that if I went somewhere else, I would go back to square one which is skills.
“We worked on our kicking structures and chase in pre-season, but that is only part of the game and perhaps I got a bit too caught up in it. The Bath win just before the break gave us confidence and we then worked on the stuff I did when we got here.”
Only Saracens have scored more Premiership tries than Bristol this season, 57 compared to 56, and with Virimi Vakatawa available again and Benhard Janse van Rensburg in prime form, Lam has choices to make in his backline.
“Hard work has got us back in the frame and I am not wasting my time looking at the table,” said Lam. “The only one that matters is after the final round. Win all our games and we go through.”
Josh Caulfield returns to the second row for Bristol after serving a suspension with Siva Naulago for Noah Heward on the right wing the only other change from the side that started the victory over Gloucester in the last round. Vakatawa is among the replacements.
England U20s star Oli Spencer starts at outside centre for Newcastle, Adam Brocklebank coming in at prop.