Wales have the talent to rise again, says rugby head coach Steve Tandy
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Wales' Josh Adams tries to catch the ball during the international rugby union Test match against Japan in July 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – New Wales rugby coach Steve Tandy believes that he will have the talent at his disposal to meet the ambitious target of a return to the world’s top-five sides.
Tandy becomes the first Welshman to coach the national side since 2007, at a time when Wales have slipped to 12th in the world rankings and had lost 18 successive matches before beating Japan last month in the final game of Matt Sherratt’s interim reign.
Wales were 2019 World Cup semi-finalists under Warren Gatland and Wayne Pivac’s side won the 2021 Six Nations Championship.
But Pivac’s reign quickly unravelled and Gatland’s return produced no upturn in fortunes, with his departure coming during the Six Nations in February.
The Welsh Rugby Union has stated it wants to see Wales in the top-five in the world by 2029.
“The privilege and the honour to be head coach of your national country is massive,” said Tandy, who has ended a six-year stay as Scotland defence coach to return home to Wales.
“I believe in the talent we have in Wales, to get us to where we want to go.
“There’s not going to be a magic wand or a quick fix, and then it all changes, but I do believe in the pathway.
“Ultimately you want to have ambition. We want to have ambition to meet those targets, but ultimately there’s a process to get to that as well.”
Tandy, 45, won the Pro12 competition in six years at Ospreys but left the Welsh region in 2018.
He worked for NSW Waratahs in Australia before moving to Scotland, while Gatland made him defence coach on the British and Irish Lions’ 2021 tour of South Africa.
Tandy takes up his role on Sept 1 and will prepare for autumn home games against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
In other rugby news, scrum-half Nic White has put his retirement on ice to join Australia’s Rugby Championship squad for the tour of South Africa following an injury to regular No. 9 Jake Gordon.
The 35-year-old White had declared the third and final British and Irish Lions Test in Sydney would be his last international match, but on Aug 7, he was included in Joe Schmidt’s 35-man squad for South Africa.
“White (is) putting his hand up to help the group again due to Gordon’s injury, just a week after announcing his plans to retire,” Rugby Australia said.
Uncapped scrum-half Ryan Lonergan will join White, with 72 Tests under his belt, in the squad for the Aug 16 clash against world champions South Africa in Johannesburg and the second Test in Cape Town on Aug 23.
Fly-half Tom Lynagh will miss the tour, though, after being struck high by Lions hooker Dan Sheehan in the Wallabies’ 22-12 win in Sydney on Aug 2 and subsequently failing a head injury assessment.
“It’s pleasing to be able to keep the core of the group together, while also leaning on some depth and fresh bodies,” said Schmidt.
“We’re very conscious of how difficult it is going to be, playing South Africa on their home turf over two consecutive weekends.
“The group has made some positive steps throughout the start of the Test season, but we all know there is a lot of hard work ahead of us.” AFP, REUTERS
