Lam still looking for reinforcements

Connacht head coach Pat Lam hopes to bring in reinforcements in January but admits the Pro 12 champions are hampered by IRFU regulations.

The IRFU Player Pathway initiative prevents the province from bringing in injury replacement players who are not eligible for selection for Ireland, a rule which has prompted Lam to persuade former Munster prop John Andress out of retirement on a short-term deal.

Andress, 32, was released by Munster on 15 December, stating that his body could no longer deal with "the rigours of pro rugby", only to sign for Connacht and appear off the bench in the 16-9 defeat to his former employers at the Sportsground on New Year's Eve.

"We’re looking, but they’ve got to be Irish-qualified," said Lam.

"We're looking at all options to get some reinforcements, because some of the injuries we have are long-term, more than six weeks."

Nepia Fox-Matamua is the latest Connacht casualty with a rib problem, meaning Lam has over 20 players injured going into the New Year.

"I've always said that what we do on the weekend is on the back of the quality of the training we do during the week," Lam continued.

"Look at all the reports, I've said that many times. The real difficulty at the moment is that we can't get the quality of training that we need to.

"We can't do live scrums during the week, we can't do the things we normally do, and that’s no one's fault. It's just a fact that over half the squad is out and the academy boys are on holidays."

Photo (Inpho/James Crombie)

eir Sport channels are available across the eir Vision, Sky and Vodafone TV platforms as well as on the eir Sport app. All 6 channels in the eir Sport pack are available for free if you are a residential eir broadband customer.