The former Samoan captain stuck firmly to the facts of the case when asked to assess a potentially-decisive incident when Connacht trailed by five points after 22 minutes.
After Ulster won a turnover inside their own five-metre line, Ruan Pienaar was fairly casual about the way he touched the ball after if rolled on to the line. Seeing the opportunity, Bundee Aki dived in at the ball at the base of the ruck and applied definite downward pressure.
In a day of mix-ups between referee Nigel Owens and his officials (there was a stand-off before the opening kick-off after a touch judge had apparently misinterpreted Lam’s wish to play in to the wind after winning the toss), the Welsh referee had to ask the question ‘who applied downward pressure first’ numerous times before TMO Jude Quinn responded with an answer that made sense to his ears.
Though it may well prove to be the right call, it seemed to warrant further examination than it received. And from there, Connacht were unravelled by some clinical Ulster attacks led by Iain Henderson and Paddy Jackson.
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“Some of the tackling in the first half wasn’t as physical as we needed it to be,” said Lam after twice commenting on the sheer size of Ulster’s pack before commending his side for finding a way around it to turn the game from a whitewash to a thriller.
At 17 – 0 down coming in at half time we spoke about it. ‘The only way we’re getting back in to this game is with structure and shape, we just needed to reload to give ourselves more opportunities.
“We needed to get back in to shape and we did that and had a bit more ball, but unfortunately every time we scored we didn’t get out kick-off receipt nailed. They came straight back and put some more points on us.”
He added: “Rugby’s all about applying pressure. The pressure brings errors, particularly when you play quality side. We couldn’t maintain pressure. Every time we did, we turned ball over. there were long periods of time when we did good stuff, but then turned the ball over or didn’t execute well.”
The loss, albeit with a bonus point, left Lam looking elsewhere for favours to offer hope. Zebre came close to inflicting a big blow on Scarlets’ top six hopes, but were scuppered by a Rhys Priestland penalty in added time. ‘Nearly’ moments like that could make a fan despair, but Lam takes them as an indirect positive, a sign that the Westerners don’t necessarily need to do the impossible win their remaining games against Glasgow, Zebre and Ospreys.
Just putting points on the board might scrape them through.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s going to go down to the wire,” says the head coach defiantly.
“It’s hard to tell because I don’t know the results of others. I was asked our target, it’s just to get as many points as we can. Three wins? That’s the beauty of the competition at the moment. It all depends on other results. it was a minute or 30 seconds away from Zebre doing us a favour, but all we can control is coming out and making sure we get a win against Glasgow now.”
Whatever happens, the fightback from 17 – 0 to salvage a point is more proof that Lam’s Connacht will not give up the hunt as long as there are minutes left on the clock.
“One thing I say about this group of guys: we might not be as experienced in certain areas, but they work hard and they don’t give in.”
Connacht vow to bring Pro12 race 'to the wire' despite inter-pro setback
PAT LAM GOT the favour he was asking Munster for in last night’s Pro12 game, but must be wondering when Connacht will get the rub of the green in their own fixture.
The former Samoan captain stuck firmly to the facts of the case when asked to assess a potentially-decisive incident when Connacht trailed by five points after 22 minutes.
After Ulster won a turnover inside their own five-metre line, Ruan Pienaar was fairly casual about the way he touched the ball after if rolled on to the line. Seeing the opportunity, Bundee Aki dived in at the ball at the base of the ruck and applied definite downward pressure.
In a day of mix-ups between referee Nigel Owens and his officials (there was a stand-off before the opening kick-off after a touch judge had apparently misinterpreted Lam’s wish to play in to the wind after winning the toss), the Welsh referee had to ask the question ‘who applied downward pressure first’ numerous times before TMO Jude Quinn responded with an answer that made sense to his ears.
Though it may well prove to be the right call, it seemed to warrant further examination than it received. And from there, Connacht were unravelled by some clinical Ulster attacks led by Iain Henderson and Paddy Jackson.
“Some of the tackling in the first half wasn’t as physical as we needed it to be,” said Lam after twice commenting on the sheer size of Ulster’s pack before commending his side for finding a way around it to turn the game from a whitewash to a thriller.
“We needed to get back in to shape and we did that and had a bit more ball, but unfortunately every time we scored we didn’t get out kick-off receipt nailed. They came straight back and put some more points on us.”
He added: “Rugby’s all about applying pressure. The pressure brings errors, particularly when you play quality side. We couldn’t maintain pressure. Every time we did, we turned ball over. there were long periods of time when we did good stuff, but then turned the ball over or didn’t execute well.”
The loss, albeit with a bonus point, left Lam looking elsewhere for favours to offer hope. Zebre came close to inflicting a big blow on Scarlets’ top six hopes, but were scuppered by a Rhys Priestland penalty in added time. ‘Nearly’ moments like that could make a fan despair, but Lam takes them as an indirect positive, a sign that the Westerners don’t necessarily need to do the impossible win their remaining games against Glasgow, Zebre and Ospreys.
Just putting points on the board might scrape them through.
“It’s going to go down to the wire,” says the head coach defiantly.
“It’s hard to tell because I don’t know the results of others. I was asked our target, it’s just to get as many points as we can. Three wins? That’s the beauty of the competition at the moment. It all depends on other results. it was a minute or 30 seconds away from Zebre doing us a favour, but all we can control is coming out and making sure we get a win against Glasgow now.”
Whatever happens, the fightback from 17 – 0 to salvage a point is more proof that Lam’s Connacht will not give up the hunt as long as there are minutes left on the clock.
“One thing I say about this group of guys: we might not be as experienced in certain areas, but they work hard and they don’t give in.”
With three games to go, here’s what Connacht have to do to qualify for the Champions Cup
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Guinness PRO12 Connacht Connacht don't give in Inter-pro Pro12 stand up rise up suftum Ulster Ulster