Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby.
Lam played one game for the All Blacks in 1992 (becoming All Black no. 928), a non-test game against Sydney. He had played for Samoa first in 1991 and went on to captain them and represented them in three World Cups, retiring from international rugby after the 1999 tournament. Samoa reached the 1991 and 1995 quarter-finals against expectations.[5]
Lam has also played for the Barbarians. He played in 2002 against England as a replacement, scoring a try. In his second game for the side, Lam captained the team to a victory over Wales, scoring another try in his final game before retirement.[6]
He was head coach of Auckland from 2004 until 2008. During his Auckland tenure he also coached the Pacific Islanders in 2006. He was head coach of Super Rugby team the Blues from 2009 to 2012.[8]
Manu Samoa
He worked with Samoa on the team's 2012 tour. Samoa's victories saw it reach eighth in the IRB rankings, and a secure second tier position for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[9]
Lam left Connacht in the summer of 2017 to take up the head coaching role with Bristol Bears. He was later appointed Director of Rugby. He won the 2019-20 European Rugby Challenge Cup with Bristol Bears after a 32–19 win against Toulon[12][13][14] In September 2021, Lam signed a five-year contract extension which will see him remain at Bristol until the summer of 2028.[15]