Pat Lam is well known in Rugby circles worldwide. He has played and Captained a number of teams from his early days as a schoolboy, - his international career includes representing Manu Samoa as Captain and the New Zealand All Blacks.He has played for Auckland, North Harbour, The Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand and Northhampton (C) and Newcastle in the UK.
He was assistant Coach with Scotland and is presently the head Coach of the Auckland NPC side playing in the Air New Zealand Cup, having coached Auckland to winners of the title last year.

We asked him what he thought was exciting about the Pacific Islanders Rugby Team:

"I think it's the opportunity to bring together the best of the Pacific Islands and take them up to the Northern Hemisphere, the home of Rugby, and to play in that sort of environment, the stadiums and a lot of traditions and history. The three Teams have been going there seperately and have done well at World Cup times, but to go there as a combined, "Best of the Pacific Islands" Team is a huge privilege and a great challenge."

We then asked him what he thought the strengths of the combined team would be:

"I think we are getting the best of all of them, everyone knows about Pacific Islanders with their flair and natural skill for the game, but it's important in this modern professional era to combine the best players so that we have very good set piece. You're guaranteed some naturally skilled players and a lot of pace."

"We're only going to be together for two weeks before we play our first test, probably 10 or 11 days to get prepared really, I see my challenge as getting everything off the field right and putting the structures in place so that we can play a game that gives us the best chance of winning these Test matches."

With his own extensive Rugby experience in the Northern Hemisphere (Being named European Player of the year 2000) we wondered what sort of reception he expected the Team may get from Scotland, Wales and Ireland:

"It's going to be very positive, they love the Pacific Islands, particulary in Wales, most people think they don't like what Samoa did to them, but Wales, Scotland and Ireland, - the Celtic Nations, they really like Pacific Islanders and enjoy the type of Rugby they play, which is why there are a lot of them playing up there.They know they bring a hard edge and something that's different from their players.The crowd up there love entertaining Rugby and that's something they know they are going get guaranteed, some running Rugby and some good Rugby, so we are going to be received very well."

We then asked if he thought the Pacific Islanders tour would enhance the chances of getting some good results by the Individual Island Teams in the World Cup next year:

"I think so, that's the important thing for us, we need to play well as a Team that lifts the whole profile and standard of Pacific Island Rugby, we all know that it's there, but for us to have a good chance at playing these Teams in their backyards, and if we can do well, ...it's crucial for the future of Pacific Island Rugby."

"What it does too, is with the selection of our Team we are only choosing players that are available for their Pacific Island Countries, which is a different step from the last time the Team was together,and I think that's important so that the Coaches of the Pacific Island Teams know that these boys will be available to them in the World Cup next year."

"I think the whole introduction of the 5 Nations and now 6 Nations with Australia being involved next year is crucial because even in my time with Samoa, the real thing they need is players playing week in, week out of top Rugby, the good thing is we have a lot of players playing in professional setups and exposed to that sort of Rugby, that's the real importance for Pacific Islanders to go further, the money is one side of it but more the competition, they've got to be playing tough competition so the 6 Nations is a good thing for them."

We wanted to know how he could introduce the structured game to our players whilst still maintaining the Pacific Islanders flair:

"I think it's the selection of the right players really. It's important that we can compete and get our own ball. The whole ethos of the game is to have quality ball that you can play with, we know we'll have some speed in the backline and exciting backs, but we need to produce quality ball and once we get that, we need to have the skills to be able to retain the ball for long periods of time as well and to be able to use it so we can score...that's the real criteria for me, and on top of that comes fitness, mental fitness, toughness, the real secret of coaching is picking the players who do not necessarily have all the talent, it's about the mental toughness and the hardness and that's what I'm looking at when selecting the Team, the balance between the talent and the mental toughness.

We asked how the Team could produce a good kicking game for the three tests:

"That is in that challenge that we in have in the 10 to 11 days that we have to prepare, it is really getting the systems into place, obviously with the kicking side of it, that's why I've taken my two coaches with me, with Shane Howarth, I was really pleased that I could take Shane, and also Mike Casey who is a scrummaging coach to ensure that our scrum is solid and also with Shane, his experience in back play is outstanding, he's not long finished playing as well at that top level and also he's done a great job with our goalkickers and our punters, so he's a good kicking coach as well"

"I just want to make sure I have got everything covered and another thing about those two is that they are very clear on my vision for the game and how I want to play the game, so when you only have a short amount of time to prepare, it's important that you have guys around you that you trust and they understand what you are trying to achieve, so that 's a positive in the first step, ideally you'd get more time to prepare, but that's what you've got and you've really got to prepare and cover all of the bases."

We recalled how Shane Howarth had kicked vital goals to get New Zealand home against South Africa:

"Shane and I went to school together, so we've known each other for such a long time, and he's played at the very top for both the All Blacks and also for Wales, he's played in the Millenium Stadium, he played a lot of Rugby in the Northern Hemisphere in England and in Wales, so he will be able to offer a lot of advice, in saying that there's a lot of the boys who are playing up there in the Northern Hemisphere and are exposed to that sort of Rugby too."

"You could get all of the best players in the world together, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen, we've seen a lot of World Fifteens struggle when you bring them all together, my real focus is to make sure that we come together real fast as a Team, and I suppose the advantage of Pacific Islanders is that they really enjoy being in each others company and they come together well, I'll make sure I've got the guitars ready, and get that real balance off the field so that we can perform on it."

We wanted to know what the Coach thought of the future of the Pacific Islanders concept:

"I think it's here to stay, I think it's a great concept, that's the mantel that's been passed to us really, it's important that we do really well and I feel the same responsibility as in the 1991 World Cup with Samoa where we more or less set the standard, and this opened the door to many invitations and Samoa had a lot of firsts after that into the nineties..and I see the same thing here, the boys in the first Team in 04 did a great job against the Tri Nations and it's our responsibility to do well up there so that people will get behind us and that we will be invited for more tours."

"I understand that responsibility and I'm looking forward to that challenge."

The 1991 World Cup Samoan Team had huge support via faxes from supporters worldwide, we remarked that we thought supporters of the 2006 Pacific Islanders Team would like to email their best wishes to the Team during the upcoming tour:

"I think that would be good, I think that is important, particularly when the boys are away from home to know that the support is there, so if we can get that, that would be fantastic, and once we get set up we can keep in constant contact, I think it's important that people get a feel for the Team and the Team get a feel for what's behind them."

We thanked Pat Lam and wished him and the entire Team all the best for a memorable Tour.

2006 Pacific Islanders.co.nz