Lam taking chance to learn about his players
PAT Lam loves losing. Seriously. Having reached the Gallagher Premiership play-offs last season and widely tipped as title contenders for 2021/22, Bristol Bears have slipped to four defeats in their first five matches.
They have shipped an alarming 31 points per game (compared to 17.2 in 2020/21) and, remarkably, across those five games have scored just 22 points in the second half – and 17 of those were in the 25-20 derby win over neighbours Bath.
Expectation and optimism has turned to pressure and concern, externally at least, as for Bristol’s director of rugby this is all an experience to relish. If anything, he has been energised by it.
Okay, so the opening line is a little playful interpretation of his words and ignoring quite a bit of context, but this worrying downturn in form, performance and execution – with Lam once again highlighting issues with the Bears “fundamentals” – isn’t consuming or inhibiting the man at the helm.
Quite the opposite, in fact, and it all goes back to a message he was given as a schoolboy: “A mentor taught me a lesson when I was 15, ‘You stay the same when things are going well. Tough times are an opportunity for you to grow’.
“It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, it just means you look at it as an opportunity. That was massive for me in my playing career and as a coach. These are the most enjoyable moments, they really are, because I find out about people and the team.
“I said this in the Championship year when we were going undefeated and we lost to Jersey – I loved that week; the first year in the Premiership, we beat Bath and everyone was happy, but then I learnt a lesson the next week when we lost by 40 points to Saracens.
“Then we got hammered by Worcester by about 50-odd points and I loved that moment as well.
“Honestly. Sure I enjoy the wins – I love that, like anything – but from a purely coaching perspective and finding out about people, you never truly find out about people and how they react and take on learnings until you’re in adversity. I love this time, I embrace this.”
When asked if this was the toughest period of his four years in charge of the Bears, Lam met the question with a simple, “no, not at all”. The reason being is because he believes it’s allowed him to learn about his team, the players to look at themselves and the club as a whole to scrutinise more than ever before.
It is dangerously close to an inspirational quote posted on Facebook with a wistful backdrop of a sunlit bay or mountainous ridge, bearing the phrase: “You learn more from failure than success” or how “failure builds character.” But, to the Bears chief, that is also completely and utterly accurate.
“I’ve been sacked (from Blues in 2012), and I loved that because I joined world class coaches who had been sacked,” he added. “I truly believe you can’t grow as a coach until you get sacked because you get so many learnings; Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, John Mitchell, Eddie Jones – everyone has been sacked.
“I came out of it thinking, ‘Finally, I’ve joined some quality coaches’.”