MY LIFE IN PICTURES… PAT LAM
MAKING A SPLASH
“You can’t change countries now but in those days you could. I was with New Zealand Sevens from 1989 so this was my fourth year in that team, while I’d been to the 1991 World Cup with Samoa.
“The 1992 Hong Kong Sevens was difficult because that year we played Samoa in one game, so there were mixed emotions.
“The weather was also atrocious – we couldn’t do scrums, only free-kicks, because of the puddles of water. Every child wants to play rugby in those conditions, running and sliding everywhere!
“I scored a try in the corner here and they were just unforgettable conditions – I’d never played in conditions like that before.”
MASTERCLASS
“I’d started working with Scotland in 2001. Two weeks after I started my last season at Newcastle, Graham Henry called to ask if I’d be an assistant for Wales. Graham had coached me since I was at school and had been a big part of my career, but I told him I’d just signed for Newcastle so we said maybe the next year when I finished playing.
“Two weeks after that Geech (Sir Ian McGeechan) got hold of me to ask if I’d help with Scotland. I said the same thing, that I’d just signed with Newcastle, and he said, ‘It’s only an hour or so away’.
“We had breaks in the season for the Six Nations and autumn Internationals then, so he talked to Rob Andrew, the director of rugby at Newcastle, and Rob gave
