As the real Pat Lam settled into his flight across the Tasman, an identity thief hunkered down at his laptop to impersonate the Blues coach.
While Lam examined video clips of the Blues' limp surrender to the Chiefs and pondered his response, the counterfeit coach tapped out thoughts to "his" followers and posted them on the union website.
The bogus coach said he would bench his lacklustre All Black forwards, switch Piri Weepu to fullback, use Isaia Toeava at halfback and station Ma'a Nonu on the wing for the side's next game against the Bulls in Pretoria.
That information came at the end of the faux message which began with a few believable thoughts until its authenticity quickly evaporated when the fake author asked the website readers to "come watch as I destroy the careers of these great footballers".
The gag deteriorated into a variety of other wacky comments as the bogus Lam suggested he was heading out fishing and a range of other jobs rather than coaching.
