'If we go over the salary cap, come and point the gun at myself... not anyone else'
Pat Lam has shrugged off concerns that recruitment-hungry Bristol could break the Gallagher Premiership’s £7million salary cap, the Bears boss claiming his PRO12 title-winning stint at cash-strapped Connacht taught him how to live within a budget.
Having already recruited Kyle Sinckler and Semi Radradra for a squad that already contains Charles Piutau, Lam caused a further stir earlier this week when he signed Fijian flyer Ratu Naulago from rugby league’s Hull.
In the wake of the Saracens salary cap controversy, which resulted in the London club’s automatic relegation to the Championship for 2020/21, there been increased focus on the spending habits of some other Gallagher Premiership clubs, including Bristol who had multiple stars on their roster before any of the recent signings were unveiled.
With only two marquee players exempt from the £7m salary cap limit, it has led to a debate on whether Bristol are playing by the rules which caught Saracens out. Lam, though, insists that they are, the coach vehemently defending his club’s eye-catching spending spree for the 2020/21 season.
Appearing on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod, Lam said everything is above board at the club he joined in 2017. “Bristol has never spent up to the cap and even currently with the squad, I know there has been a lot of speculation and rumour about our cap, but we’re still under the cap,” he told Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton.
“We have got a lot closer this time than we have in previous seasons but there is a lot of planning and working out, and players come and go. The squad I inherited, the money was heavily stacked to players who weren’t No1, players that had the experience but they weren’t playing or they were injured.
“So it was a complete overhaul of the structure to make sure that if you are going to be the No1s you have got to be world-class or heading towards world-class. Champions Cup is our ambition, to be that sort of team, to be the most dominant in Europe.
“Players playing for England would never play for England if our rugby programme was average, and then the home-grown players was important. Steve (Lansdown, the owner) and Chris (Booy, the chairman) gave me control over the academy to re-arrange the structure.
“Everything is geared now and the amount of homegrown boys that are coming through now… you have got to balance it all out, so the money is geared towards performance and what brings bums on seats, what can add value to our overall plan.
“I see the salary cap as vital but if we go over the salary cap, mate, come and point the gun at myself, Mark Tainton, our accountants and our board, not anyone else. At the end of the day, it’s our responsibility and I have worked in a place beforehand (Connacht) where I knew there was no way we were going to compete (financially) but we can work with what we can work with and be prudent with what we are doing.
“Growing the game is one side of it but the other side is when I got here everyone in the Premiership told me, ‘This is the best competition’. Now, remember I come from Super Rugby, also from the PRO12, PRO14 now, and there is always the question, which is the best?
“Well, if you’re going to be the best you got to have the best players or have the ability to recruit the best players. With the marquee rule, I remember bringing in Charles Piutau and people said it was crazy.
“I brought Charles Piutau here not only for his rugby ability but I knew him personally. I knew he could add value on and off the field. I knew it wasn’t a gamble because it wasn’t about getting the best players, it was about getting the right players who will grow our game, grow our brand, grow our product.
'I actually had to retire over a Zoom call. I had all the boys, all the staff and there is me getting emotional'
A brutal collision ended @BristolBears centre @whhurrell 's playing career, but his rugby story isn't over, writes @heagneyl https://t.co/7VLM2nDwb0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 26, 2020
“It’s the same with Radradra. I’m a big follower of NRL and saw him play, but I didn’t have any interest in bringing him here. It wasn’t until I coached the Barbarians and I saw him, got to meet him, built a relationship, saw what he could do.
“Also while I’m seeing everyone relaxing and enjoying themselves as it is the Baa-Baas, here’s this guy doing his pre-hab/rehab stretches, an ultimate pro. That’s why I had the interest to bring him here. He will bring massive value into our Premiership and into Bristol, but also grow our great game and help us be commercially viable as well.”
These new signings, such as England and Lions prop Sinckler, will be available to Bristol from July 1, boosting the squad that helped the club to reach third place in the league when the season was suspended in March. “We have been in touch with the guys that are coming in, making sure in the next four, five weeks that we are getting back a lot of these calls working through game plan stuff and then connections and having these guys involved.
“Mitch Eddie is an example. He’s finished at Northampton now. While he doesn’t start officially until July 1 he is a Bristol boy and he is already connected in some of the groups already. The boys are helping them out. It’s something we have got to plan for and we are pretty pleased with the guys that will come through.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Billy's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to comments