Christ on a bike....

I hard the rumour last night and was thinking there was no way he'd leave us early. Not after all the talk of commitment and community, bleeding green etc. I mean, he was never going to say forever but to jump ship early and follow the cash... I suppose I'd hoped for more and believed what he was telling us. With the road ahead of us this season slanting steeply uphill already this was the last thing we needed. The only upside is the hopefully massive boost to the coffers buying out his contract will have brought.

Thanks for the great changes you brought for us Pat, you've done fantastic work and your successor has huge boots to fill. Now lets get on with the job ahead....

Absolutely gutted, really not looking forward to telling my 12-year-old son after school he completely idolises Pat after meeting when he joined Connacht. He told Pat that he could pass off both hands (which he couldn’t), now has only got till the end of the season to apologise, and tell him he can do it now. Thanks Pat you will always be a legend out west.

Like everyone else I'm gutted but this is the way it is. We have 2 huge games ahead of us . We have these games to look forward to , not just because of Pat , but everybody else involved . Hopefully they will feel they have a point to prove and take it out on Wasps. For the first time I travel to a match in England with a genuine feeling of expectation and this will be one of the highlights of the Lam era . Connacht Abu !

Bristol RFC- bottom of the premiership with 4 points; have lost a record 13 premiership games on the trot.. -178 points difference. More than likely playing championship rugby next season without Andre Bell or Dave Ellis coaching ticket..
All I can say is good luck Pat because I think you'll need it!

Andre Bell gone. Dave Ellis leaving, now Pat leaving. It's hard to take in. Success has helped their cvs. Totally agree we are in a better position to recruit than we were a few years ago. Thanks Pat for everything, Galway should give him freedom of the city before he goes.

tlocke wrote: What about Stuart Lancaster as head coach with Ben Ryan as back coach ?

We already have an excellent backs coach, but we are down a skills coach as of the end-of-month. I'd imagine Ryan is looking to be No.1 somewhere and that Lancaster is slated to replace the departing/promoted sideways Cullen.

Ryan would admittedly be a huge gamble (as was Pat) but his attitude, values, style of play, and experience of working with limited resources might make him a really good match for us. Would love to see him in as skills/assistance coach from January 1 with a view to a proper handover before taking the reins in June. He said in a recent interview that there was interest from the Pro12 but gave no indication as to which team(s).

Stuart Lancaster is an interesting one. He's only contracted with Leinster until the end of the season, so it's not beyond the realms. Nothing but positive reports coming out of Dublin about him too - really hands on by all accounts. One thing is sure, we're a easier sell now than we were when Pat was brought in 4 years ago.

And who knows, maybe this will give the team a kind of boost going into the wasps fixtures? Maybe I'm clutching at straws. We'll see.

Rumour has it that Lancaster will be joining Lam at Bristol next season too.

When the final whistle was blown in the Pro 12 final in Murrayfield, people wondered how Robbie must have been feeling about his decision. Same again, but for Pat, after the champions cup final in 6 months time

I believe he was let leave to go to Bristol only after his won the Heineken cup this year.
Interesting times again for Connacht

What about Stuart Lancaster as head coach with Ben Ryan as back coach ?

greyingbeard wrote:

clanman wrote: Surely they could have waited until after the 2 wasps games to announce it

Connacht may not have had a choice, Bristol may have been announcing today anyway so the branch had to get ahead of things

Thats what usually happens.
Bristol have paid whatever required to get Lam on board. They want the positive press.

Onwards and upwards. Pat has always said that it's about the team, not himself. Connacht will keep going. We just need to make sure that we continue to support them

clanman wrote: Surely they could have waited until after the 2 wasps games to announce it

Connacht may not have had a choice, Bristol may have been announcing today anyway so the branch had to get ahead of things

Best wishes to Pat and his family. I don't feel any animosity toward him whatsoever. It's professionalism at work in a global world. A great opportunity to take everything upward and onward. We will surely have massive interest in this role.

clanman wrote: Surely they could have waited until after the 2 wasps games to announce it

It was in the press at the weekend, once something leaks it can't be unleaked.

Gutted!!!