It was a performance that marked the CAB supporters present at the Stadium ten days ago for the Challenge Cup match against Pau. For his first appearance in Europe, the New Zealander Dylan Lam was in all the fights: passes after contact, chistera and big buffers in defense. One of his destructive tackles had even led to the start of a scuffle between the two teams.
This is to say if the 24-year-old New Zealand third row has left its mark on the club’s only victory in its last two months. His name is not unknown in world rugby. He is the nephew of Samois rugby legend Batlam Lam, now a coach at Bristol. Dylan is also the cousin of Ben Lam, the sharp winger of Bordeaux-Bègles.
This great performance against Pau rewards the young player. Arrived in mid-November as Kamikamica’s medical joker, Dylan had certainly never played but he showed a very good state of mind in training, notes Joris Durand, winger at CAB: “He showed why he came. He’s been working like a dog for a month and a half. He doesn’t let go. He’s there in the morning, very early. He leaves last. He’s a hard worker. He has proved that he had a place in the squad with us. He had been unlucky. He had to play for the London Irish and the match had been canceled. So for him, that, I think, will do him good. good in the head and good in the legs because he had ants in his legs!
Dylan Lam arrived in Corrèze as an almost unknown. It must be said that he was trained in New Zealand and had never played on the European continent, which explains the staff’s desire to preserve him, not to use him for the moment in the Top 14 too early. “In Top 14, the rhythm is not the same” notes coach Jérémy Davidson. “It was a little easier to throw in challenges. I think he was very good in the duels, he is very technical.”
No doubt Dylan Lam’s future performances will be watched closely. The player could bring his ardor to the collective of the CAB which fights to maintain itself with a capital match Saturday against Biarritz Olmpique, red lantern of the championship.