Pat Lam’s new job title as director of rugby at Bristol Bears is a reminder of the overriding influence the Samoan has at the club.
Owner Steve Lansdown said Lam is setting the blueprint for everyone else to follow , and at the moment Lam looks well on his way to building a rugby masterpiece.
His new three year extended contract will keep him in the West Country until at least 2023 , making it six years in total.
Lam has always spoken admiringly of the consistency of leadership at the likes of the Premiership’s two leading clubs, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, who have both had the same men at the top for more than a decade as they have risen to the top.
Lam’s latest contract now gives Bristol Bears a chance or closing the gap on the pace setters in English rugby and perhaps even surpass them, becoming the ‘premier club in the northern hemisphere’ as stated by the new director of rugby.
“I’m excited. It is pretty straight forward when you are working in a place you really enjoy and are loving," Lam said of his new contract.
“We have had a fantastic two years, not perfect obviously, but we have set a very good foundation and to be able to be a part of the plan we have set for the next four years is very exciting.
“Consistency and cohesion at a rugby club is vital. It is not just about the head coach it is about having good staff, then the relationships grow, the bonds grow and it makes everything we do on the pitch much easier."
Noticeably Lam has switched from being a head coach to director of rugby, but little will change internally at the club as he has already been fulfilling that roles in many ways.
In fact Lam was even nominated for the Gallagher Premiership director of rugby of the year award this season, with Saracen’s Mark McCall taking home the accolade last night.
Steven Luatua was also on the shortlist for Premiership player of the the month but lost out to Gloucester's Danny Cipriani, while Nick Fenton-Wells, who will become the club's team manager next season, took home the community player of the season award.
Lam explained: “My role is to ask the hard questions, to acknowledge the good work being done but also ask how can we be better both individually and as an organisation.
"It is about raising people’s self awareness and then they can take ownership of where they are at and improve.
“Being director of rugby is a title really but it is exactly what I have been doing, running all the rugby programme , the recruitment and the retention and just drive all the rugby departments.
“The difference between me and some others is as a head coach I have been really hands on, leading the coaching. And coaching is my passion.
"If I had been asked to take the director of rugby role without the coaching I wouldn’t have taken it; and vice versa, if they had brought someone else in to do all the stuff I have been doing for the last two years, six years actually [if you include Connacht] I wouldn't have taken the role either. Both go hand in hand.
“Some people do one or the other but not me."
