That All Black magic working already – Lam

Connacht’s biggest signing of former All Black Mils Muliaina is one step — albeit a big one — in Connacht’s development, insists coach Pat Lam.

Inundated with texts and emails, including one, he says, which said: ‘Jesus, you guys are on the map, well done’, Lam says the news has already impacted on the squad.

“There’s a buzz. The players are looking forward to him coming here, after all they have looked up to him as a player when they were young.

“It is all positive and I think it is not totally about who he is, or what he has done, but the impact he will have for the Irish-qualified boys. If you think we were constantly putting out 13 or 14 every week — the average age about 22 — and now they have someone like Mils from whom they can learn.

“It will raise the standards and we will get better as a team, not just by chance. That’s what I want from the three new guys [Tom McCartney, Bundee Aki, and Muliaina].”

Muliaina, the last major signing for the province this season, is one of the key planks in moving the province forward, but Lam insists he is not coming to Connacht to feature in every game.

“I know what he will do with these guys — he will drive them hard because he has high expectations. He will raise everything up and support what we are doing as coaching staff.”

Lam says the release of senior players such as Dan Parks, Gavin Duffy and Frank Murphy freed up the budget to allow the province to sign the three Kiwis, without spending a penny more than last season — although there is “small bit left over”.

“We were very clear on what we needed: a hooker and front row, was a major one, and I have a strong relationship with Tom McCartney. We needed the X factor in our back line and there were a few options that we looked at, but some players were still under contract. I hadn’t worked with Bundee, but he came from the agents, and then another area we needed to cover was the mental — and Mils wants to pass on information and be the mentor — it is not that he wants it, it is just what he does.”

Lam also says Connacht has one less foreign player than last year, swapping Parks for Muliaina, Aki for James So’oialo, and McCartney for White [who becomes Irish-qualified this year]. “So there were no extra allowances, no extra funding, but what we have done is our homework to fit them into our squad.”

It is a squad, he insists, without rock stars. “Where does Mils fit into Connacht? He’s a team person. It is not all about me and I, but the keyvalues are people, relationships, helping other people. It’s all about team men,” he says.

Muliaina, who is recovering from elbow surgery, is due to arrive at the end of the Super 15 season.

This weekend, Lam’s team have been hit hard again by injuries as they face the Ospreys in their final Pro 12 fixture on Saturday. Hooker JasonHarris-Wright dislocated his shoulder last weekend and is expected to require surgery which will keep him out of action for six months.

And with Sean Henry also expected to miss the start of next season and McCartney not due until the completion of the Super 15, Lam will be relying on youngsters Dave Heffernan and Jack Dineen again on Saturday.