Pat Lam could not hide his pride after witnessing his Connacht side end the province’s long wait for silverware with a 20-10 victory in the Guinness Pro12 final against Leinster.
Tries from Tiernan O’Halloran and Niyi Adeolokun were just reward for a dominant first-half performance at Murrayfield, and when Matt Healy crossed after the break to put Connacht 20-3 ahead the party could begin in the Scottish capital.
The triumph puts an exclamation point on a remarkable season for Irish rugby’s true underdogs and when asked if he could put the achievement into words, Lam said: “It’s a lá bródúil do daoine Connacht!
“It’s an absolutely proud day for the people of Connacht. For the west of Ireland it’s wonderful. It’s what we dreamed about.
“The people who came here and the welcome we’ve had all season have been tremendous. The game sort of highlights what west of Ireland people are like.
“They work hard, and they work hard for each other. I’m very privileged and blessed to be part of it.”
Connacht were in no way awestruck by the big occasion and stayed true to their expansive style by taking the game to their more experienced rivals from the outset.
“It’s all about training these guys to go to the next level,” Lam told TG4.
“I’ve always said I wanted an international standard so if we get to a moment like this it’s not going to overawe them. They can all just get out there and do their thing.
“The boys have put in a lot of hours together, learning the game, learning how we can play. The boys put the extra time into doing skills and they’ve got the reward.
“I’ve always said I wanted an international standard so if we get to a moment like this it’s not going to overawe them. They can all just get out there and do their thing.
“The biggest thing is belief and belief comes from working hard. I’ve never worked with a team in my whole playing or coaching career that worked so hard.
“We might not have the most talent or experience, but, mate, if you’ve got the attitude and you’ve got the heart... and these guys have got it in abundance.”
For Leo Cullen, his first final as Leinster coach ended in disappointment but he nonetheless recognised the outstanding Connacht display.
He said: "We turned the ball over too cheaply, but you can't take anything away from them, they were exceptional in taking the opportunities that they had.
"They showed a real desire to play for each other and defend for each other and we were chasing the game from a very early stage.
"We started OK, but some of our composure let us down. Our guys are gutted, they put a lot into this season and we'll just regroup together and find how we can be better moving forward."
