By Paul Rees

When Pat Lam took charge of Connacht in 2013, one of his first acts was to take Jake Heenan with him.
Back-rower Heenan was then 21 and the previous year had led New Zealand Under-20s in the Junior World Championship in South Africa when they lost to the Baby Boks in the Cape Town final.
Lam, below, knew Heenan from the flanker’s days with the Blues Under-18 side, the franchise where he coached for three years from 2009, and and wasted no time in asking him on the journey to Ireland.

The pair have worked together ever since with Heenan joining Lam in making the move to Bristol...