Pat Lam is backing his young, homegrown Connacht team to bring success to the province.
The Westerners remain top of the PRO12 thanks to their historic 18-12 win over Munster in Thomond Park and Lam believes his steady progress in Galway is the only way to build a team.
Connacht have lost just once all season and Saturday’s Matchday squad featured 13 players who came through the province’s academy.
That is how the former Samoa captain likes to build a team, going so far as to tell the Irish Daily Mail that signing a rugby galactico like Dan Carter would be a “waste of time”.
Carter was unveiled to Racing Metro fans on Saturday after his big money move to Paris as Johnny Sexton’s replacement but Lam does not think buying in talent is the way forward for Irish rugby.
“I don’t believe in building professional teams and I don’t think Ireland can afford to build a team based on individuals and stars and paying a lot of money,” he said.
“You need indigenous players, young players coming through, topped up by some (foreign) quality. So it’s not about the stars.”
Munster and Leinster in particular are under pressure to bolster their squads with foreign talent but judging by Lam’s comments, do not expect Connacht to enter the market.
