PAT LAM has used his love of history to haul Bristol from the Championship to the top of the Premiership and a seat at the table of European rugby’s elite.
Lam has been in charge of the Bears since 2017 after joining from Connacht and they have become a club transformed.
Yesterday they hosted a Premiership semi-final for the first time when they welcomed Harlequins, reward for sitting on top of the Premiership from the sixth round.
“I love history and did it at school,” said Lam, below. “It tells you where you have come from and the learnings you can take from it. Vision gives you the direction to take and allows you to confront obstacles you have not come up against before. When I arrived here, I was reminded that Bristol’s history had not been great this century and given where we came from, it has been a good season. We are living history.”
Bristol are backed by the Premiership’s wealthiest owner, Steve Lansdown, and they have recruited leading players in Charles Piutau, Semi Radradra, John Afoa and Kyle Sinckler, but Lam pointed out that the backbone of their side this season had largely been less celebrated members of his squad.
“We have used 44 players this season and a number of our rock stars have appeared in fewer than ten of them,” said Lam. “You are talking about Semi, Kyle, Harry Randall and Ben Earl while Callum Sheedy and Charles Piutau have played in 12.
“It shows how we have grown. Every season I have been here has been an improvement of the previous one. We have a long way to go, but we continue to get better because we learn. We are in a far better place than when we made the Premiership semi-final last season.
“I never bring my game down to the players and say I only have this group and they can only do that. The players have to come up to play the game which means I need good coaches and staff to ensure they can make the step up. So if Semi Radradra or Piers O’Conor plays at 13, the responsibility is the same. I never want be in a position where we lose a player and think it matters.”
Lam cited a match against Worcester at Sixways in October 2018, his first season in the Premiership as one of the biggest learn- ings for his side. They lost 52-7, but since then the two clubs have gone in oppo- site directions.
“Worcester were our nemesis then,” said Lam. “I had a good conversation with Steve Lansdown after that match when we were well and truly second best. I was not happy with the result but from a bigger picture context, it was a massive learning.
“You can look at the two clubs now as a guide to how we have improved since then. To top the table for the last 16 Premiership rounds was phenomenal.
“When I arrived I said there were three non-negotiables: game, culture and leadership. I felt we had a game that could beat any team and what I needed was players who could step up, improve their skills, understanding how to play the game and work together.
“With culture, the focus on relationships allows honest conversations to be had and leadership comes from the experience of getting better. The focus is now on retention rather than recruitment. I want a group who gets to 200 games for the club because it means you grow a tightknit family and the players end up driving the game and the culture.
“They understand what it is about and they pass it on. That is how you get sustainable success. It should outlive me because it is about setting up structures and systems that are not reliant on any individual. That principle is the same whatever business you are involved in.”
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