Young players from Connacht can now achieve their rugby goals with the province and don’t have to move to other teams, according to Pat Lam.
The Connacht boss, who picked up the Guinness Pro12 Coach of the Year award, has just led his team to the league play-offs, where they will face Glasgow at the Sportsgrounds.
The Westerners also came close to a Challenge Cup semi-final place, losing out to a late Grenoble drop goal in the last eight.
And while being involved in the business end of the season is pleasing to the former Samoa captain, it is the foundations that are being built, by his predecessors and Connacht Rugby management, that are more important, he says.
When the 47-year-old sees youngsters wearing replica shirts, he knows the future is bright.
“That is what excites me most. Young kids that aspire [to rugby careers ] now don’t have to play for other provinces,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“They can achieve their goals if they work hard and they can do it for Connacht.
“So connecting to the community is important because I can’t change blue blood or red blood or northern blood to green blood, but they understand the people they represent.
“The boys have done that tremendously well. The West of Ireland is firmly on the map, there is a lot of proud people and that is reflected by people wearing the jerseys.
“When I left my home town to become professional I needed to know what I [was] playing for, because when the going gets tough and we’re down to a point or we need to defend a lead, I have to understand.
“So it’s very important as a coach to make sure that all the players understand.”
The Auckland man was keen to praise the support staff and those who work behind the scenes.
“Every good coach needs good people," he says.
"I’m privileged to work in an organisation which has so many good people starting from Willie Ruane, CEO, Tim Allnut, the team manager, and [captain] John Muldoon.
“They all play for Connacht, and you look at [ex-coach] Eric Elwood, who runs our community game and [academy manager] Nigel Carolan.
“There is a big vision in Connacht and it is great to be part of it. I’m very, very privileged.
“When they employed me as a coach, I said there are three things I work on: There is the game that I like to play, that I believe we can play.
“There is the culture, because you need to build the trust and build relationships because when the going gets tough, you always want to be with the people who meant a lot to you.
“And then there is the leadership because when I first came in trying to drive a lot of things, effectively it has evolved to the players taking ownership of all and driving it.
“We are not there yet. We are creating things and putting structures in place [for] when we leave, and all of us will leave at some stage, that this is sustainable and it’s ongoing.
“When you look at what is going on in Connacht Rugby, right across the organisation, it’s a really exciting time and I have a lot of confidence that this won’t be the first or the last time we will be in play-off rugby.”
Next up on the playing field, however, is that semi-final against Glasgow on 21 May.
It will be a rematch of their last regular league fixture, where a 14-7 win secured home advantage for Lam’s side.
And while he says “it’s nice to be recognised” with individual awards, the goal for now is clear.
“There is no doubt that the main award we want is the Pro12 trophy,” he says.
“We have had so many learning experiences, I mention Krasnodar often [beating Enisei STM in -20ºC in Siberia]
“I mentioned the Munster games, the Leinster games, even the Ulster game when we were 13 men and defending.
“All of these experiences really help to build depth in our squad and grow us as a team.
“There is no doubt I’d be worried if we were playing these games at the start of the season but I have a lot of confidence and belief in the boys because we work tremendously hard together.
“We back ourselves but we understand the task that is ahead of us and we’ll prepare accordingly and look forward to it.”
