Connacht's Pro12 victory saw them qualify for the 2016–17 Champions Cup. They finished in third place in their pool, level on points with Toulouse in second to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition for the first time. A serious injury crisis, which saw 21 players unavailable at the same time, contributed to the team sliding down the league table and they finished eighth in the 2016–17 Pro12. This saw the team entered into a play-off to qualify for the 2017–18 Champions Cup. A six-point loss to Northampton Saints saw Connacht entered into the 2Challenge Cup. This was Lam's last game in charge. It had been announced in December 2016 that he would leave at the end of the season to take over English side Bristol.