Connacht Rugby had to ship a good few soul-crushing losses on their way to becoming Pro 12 champs last season, so their coach Pat Lam knows a good bit about what it's like to rise above demoralising defeats. Speaking at the Mazda Rugby Clinic at Carton House Sunday, Lam backed the Mayo footballers to achieve their holy grail and win an All-Ireland, despite this year's heartbreaking loss.
"I'm outside the environment but, the number one thing I'd say is they will do it. The fact is they're consistently there. It will come. It's just about the belief. It's about continuing to believe. They were just so unlucky [in the drawn match]. It's going to come. It will come," Lam said with confidence.
Lam has been keen to spread rugby across the five counties of Connacht and keeps an eye on all the big sporting activity in the province.
Lam was in good form yesterday following Connacht's win over Ulster Friday and the prospect of welcoming Toulouse to the Sportsground next weekend. The fixture will recall Lam's first momentous win as Connacht coach - the win away to Toulouse in December 2013.
"The game was huge. It was in December. I'd been in place for four or five months. Everything we were doing was around process and focusing on getting our job done. What it showed me and our guys is what we could do. We were the first team to win there in 5 years. They had never lost a Champions Cup game there. It gave us a perspective on what was possible."
Ireland's November internationals are looming, and Lam again backed winger Niyi Adeolokun to make a breakthrough in a green jersey.
The reason why I took him on board is this - he was 23, he'd done a degree. He'd been playing club rugby. But I loved his work and his attitude. He had a thirst for knowledge. Talent will take you so far. There's no doubt there's more talented guys around. But the things he's had to done, he's learned on the field. And it's the same lesson I tell these kids at the Mazda roadshow, keep working on your skills and your talent and you will get better, but you've got to have the right attitude.
Adeleokun trained with Ireland at Carton House last week and if he continues to score tries for Connacht, it won't be long until he gets his first Ireland cap.
