BRILLIANT in attack and now brutal in defence, Pat Lam says Bristol are benefiting massively from the addition of self-titled ‘Collision Magician’ Omar Mouneimne to their coaching team.
Mouneimne swapped Worcester for Bristol during the enforced break to the Premiership season and the South African-raised Lebanese has had an immediate impact.
The Bears’ 16-12 win over Saracens last Saturday was the first time in 77 straight Premiership matches that they had not conceded a try.
Delighted to break that unwanted league record that stretched to almost 12 years, Bristol boss Lam sung the praises of his new defence coach.
“I said straight after the game, the one area I was proud of was our defence. I run team defence and team attack, but I need key coaches helping me,” said Lam.
“While our systems haven’t changed too much, bringing Omar Mouneimne in has really improved us in the collisions and the contact and we saw that on the weekend.
“Tied in with the work that John Muldoon does with our maul defence as well, to keep a team like that out was a massive effort.
“The players brought the effort and the heart but there’s certainly big credit to the coaching group.”
Mouneimne has a background in mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu so it is no wonder the teams coached by him are combative.
Outstanding work in Super Rugby with the Stormers and the Sharks and with the Italian national team led to him joining Worcester.
“Whenever we played Worcester with Connacht (Lam’s former team), they were always known for their physicality in the contact and the collision,” Lam said.
“When the opportunity came, he was keen to come in and talk to me, and when we talked about our philosophies on defence, it was clear he was very much aligned to what we were doing.
“I’m enjoying working with him.”
The Premiership’s great entertainers now have a hard edge to them, and Lam says that is not only down to Mouneimne but the natural evolution of the squad.
With 33 players recently committing themselves to new contracts, Bristol’s band-of-brother mentality is now evident in their defensive work.
“We are known for our attack but, certainly this year, we have put a lot more emphasis on our kicking game to bring some balance,” added Lam.
“Every year – similar to when I was at Connacht – the attack improves year-on-year and defence follows not long after.
“Defence is all about culture, it is all about relationships. You’ve got a group of guys who’ve been with me for three seasons and are going to be around for more seasons, and as those relationships grow, you’ll see that come through in defence.
“Attack is what everyone wants to do, defence is what you have to do. It is all part of the plan to build the ultimate game which is what you need if you want to become the dominant team in Europe.”
JON NEWCOMBE
