Lam's Shield gift to Auckland
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:19
Auckland coach Pat Lam ensured he would depart the defending Air New Zealand Cup champions as a winner - with his last home game being a 25-3 defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Manawatu at Eden Park on Saturday.
It was the perfect send-off for the former All Black, who has one more game - the Air NZ Cup Round Five outing away to Waikato in Hamilton next week - as Auckland coach, before taking up his position as Blues head coach.
Not surprising Lam was a relieved man when he spoke to the media at the Eden Park 'construction site' after ensuring that Auckland would keep the Log o' Wood till at least next month - with their next Shield defence scheduled for September 6, against Southland.
While Lam rated his team's performance against Manawatu as "pretty average", he was just pleased to have won.
"It was my last Shield game, I'm glad it's still here," he told a media gathering at Eden Park.
"There were a lot of basic errors and it was disjointed. There seemed to be a lack of confidence," he said.
