Super 14 - Lam gets Blues job

Eurosport - Thu, 03 Jul 09:18:00 2008

Auckland coach and former All Black Pat Lam has been appointed coach of Super 14 team the Auckland Blues, the New Zealand Rugby Union said.

RUGBY Auckland Blues Evans - 0

Lam, 39, the current coach of the Auckland provincial side, replaces David Nucifora, who returned to Australia to head the Australian Rugby Union's (ARU) high performance unit.

"I have aspired to coach a team in the Super 14, ideally the Blues. That opportunity has arrived and I'm delighted," Lam said in a statement.

Lam has spent four years with Auckland, who last year captured New Zealand's top two rugby competitions - the national championship and Ranfurly Shield.

The Blues finished sixth in this season's Super 14 competition, which they have won three times in the past when it was the Super 12.

Lam was also assistant coach with Scotland in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

As a loose forward he played for Auckland, Manu Samoa and had one match for the All Blacks in 1992.

Reuters

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