Lam dismisses Goode criticism of club spirit
PAT Lam dismisses claims by former England fly-half Andy Goode that some of his Bristol players, including prop Ellis Genge, are not bothered about performing for the club.
Goode made his observation on a podcast last week following Bristol’s 46-24 defeat at Leicester when Genge, the Tigers captain last season, came on in the second half.
“Genge looked like he was not interested,” said Goode, right. “He was basically patting all the Leicester players on the back as if he was still a Leicester player but in a Bristol jersey.
“It is like he was not bothered and I think it is the same for a few of the Bristol boys. I think there is a big issue with the team spirit there and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a big change.”
Lam, Bristol’s director of rugby, had given Genge the week off to recover from the Six Nations, but the prop turned up to training and said he wanted to be involved at Leicester.
“I know what Ellis is like and what all the boys here are like,” said Lam. “They care. I have the advantage of seeing what they do in the environment. If someone makes a mistake, it is not because they do not care.
“I have not heard the podcast, but it sounds personal. Podcasts and social media give everyone the chance to say what they feel. They are opinions which, unlike facts, can be challenged.
“You do not need to listen to opinions but if something is fact, you look at it. I talk to players and staff here about this stuff.
“If you are someone who does not rate their self-worth on the opinion of another, then you will be fine. But if you are affected by it, do not read it but listen to those who matter to you.
“There are always pressures and opinions from outside because it is performance driven. If I listened to everything this place would be chaos: you would be swinging with the wind.”
The defeat at Leicester put a severe dent in Bristol’s play-off hopes, but Lam has not given up hope of making the top four. He said: “You never say never, but the Leicester result certainly makes it harder.We have three games left and need to get 15 points from them and see where that takes us. I do not think anyone will be surprised by anything in the last three rounds.
“We have had some poor losses this season, but Leicester was not one of them. We were ahead in the second half and playing well but suffered on the penalty count.
“It was 20-4 to Leicester where the average differential is five. We did not get one penalty in the second half. Some wrong calls were made, while we also made 23 errors.
“Leicester this season average more than 50 per cent on their gainline carries. We had them down to 36 per cent which shows the quality of our tackling. We did a lot of good things, but the penalty count gave Leicester possession and points.”