Steve Tandy started his new role on Monday and he has a mountain of work to do
Steve Tandy (pictured) officially started his role as Wales coach on Monday(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Steve Tandy officially started his role as head coach of Wales on Monday and returns to a rugby nation which is in crisis mode.
It is hard to think of a coach of a tier one nation who has had such a monumental task as the one facing Tandy. Wales only recently broke an 18-Test losing streak while success in terms of winning games has been hard to come by at age grade level while the country’s four professional clubs – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – have been consigned to mediocrity.
On top of that the Welsh Rugby Union’s executive wants to slash the number of professional clubs from four to two, with a formal consultation ongoing.
An easy task ahead then.
But Tandy is an experienced coach who was highly regarded in Australia where he coached the Waratahs and in Scotland where he worked alongside Gregor Townsend.
Here are the key areas Tandy needs to focus on.
A new coaching team
Clearly the first thing he needs to do is assemble a backroom team he can work with.
Rumours have been rife for a while that Tandy and the WRU’s director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin will appoint the majority of coaches who took Wales to Japan.
The only issue is that both Adam Jones (scrum) and Danny Wilson (forwards) are under contract at Harlequins while Matt Sherratt, who could be the attack coach, is preparing for Cardiff’s United Rugby Championship campaign.
Perhaps the likes of Jones and Wilson could arrive on secondment again but that would be far from ideal.
“It is about getting the right people in those spots as opposed to just getting the next people. So, the guys in the summer have done an outstanding job,” said Reddin in July. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
“Matt (Sherratt) and the team have done an outstanding job as interim. And who knows what happens in the future, but we’ll go through a rigorous process.
“With an Autumn Series coming up, it may be that we’ll have to make some interim decisions in the pursuit of getting the people that we want, because it might well be that people are in position already and we need to be a bit more patient.”
Plenty of work to do on that front then.
Wales need to find an identity
Take a look at some of the best side’s in the world and they all have a strong identity in terms of the style of play they wish to adopt.
But if somebody asked a Welsh rugby fan or journalist for that matter what Wales’ identity was over the past couple of years they’d all struggle to answer the question.
During the first Warren Gatland era Wales prided themselves on an almost impenetrable defence, a strong pack of forwards and an accurate kicking game.
But upon returning to Wales Gatland attempted to play a similar brand of rugby without having the required players to do so.
Tandy needs to find a style of play which suits the players at his disposal and there needs to be clarity over the role of each individual.
Currently Wales do not have the size or the power to take a route one approach and it could be argued they need to adopt a more expansive and fast paced game without neglecting the fundamentals like the set-piece.
Problem positions
There are a lot of these at the moment and Welsh rugby does not have the same standard of players it possessed five or six years ago.
That is the harsh fact of the matter.
Tighthead prop will be at the top of Tandy’s priority list because this is a position Wales have struggled in since Tomas Francis’ move to French PRO D2 outfit Provence made the 33-year-old unavailable.
To be frank Wales have struggled in this position even before Francis stepped away and going as far back as to when Adam Jones wore the number three jersey the scrum fell off a cliff whenever the scrummaging legend got injured.
Archie Griffin is a very promising player who contributes a huge amount around the park with his dynamic carrying, huge defensive work rate and ability to win the ball at the breakdown but his scrummaging remains a work in progress. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
Henry Thomas was excellent for the Scarlets last season and the former England international might be the best option in the short-term with Griffin coming off the bench.
Wales also have Keiron Assiratti, WillGriff John, Chris Coleman, Harri O’Connor and Dillon Lewis who have all played Test rugby over the past few years.
Outside-half is also a position where Wales needs someone to stamp their authority on the shirt because every successful side has a top class general who can steer the ship in the right direction.
Ospreys playmaker Dan Edwards was impressive in the second Test victory out in Japan this summer and if he starts the season well at club level he has a great chance of starting the autumn internationals as first choice.
Don’t discount Sam Costelow who is a good player with a lot to offer and his tussle for the number 10 shirt with Edwards should stand both players in good stead.
But again there is a lack of depth in this area.
What happens if both Costelow and Edwards are injured?
Jarrod Evans could come back into the mix while Ben Thomas can also play 10 and Gareth Anscombe is still available, although at 34 he is at the tail end of his career.
It will also be interesting to see how Joe Hawkins goes at 10 after signing for the Scarlets while Ioan Lloyd and Callum Sheedy have also previously been capped.
But 10 is an area of concern and Tandy really needs a couple of players to step up to the mark.
Scrum-half is also a problem according to many who work within the game.
Yes, Tomos Williams is an outstanding player but there is a big drop off in quality and experience when the Lions tourist is unavailable.
While this does not solely rest on Tandy’s shoulders the WRU needs to find a way to ensure more resources are invested into the pathway moving forward.
There is also a real dearth of powerful ball carriers in his side and Tandy will need to find a way to overcome this.
The return of the ex
Tandy will no doubt be intrigued to see how Ross Moriarty goes after signing for the Ospreys having spent the previous couple of seasons at French club Brive.
Moriarty had fallen out of favour with Gatland but is a very physical and abrasive blindside flanker who can also cover No 8.
In his prime the 31-year-old was somebody who never took a backwards step and gave Wales a real physical edge in the backrow.
If he can prove he is the same quality of player he once was then Tandy could do a lot worse than consider the former Gloucester and Dragons man.
One player who you can expect to be parachuted straight back into the squad is Louis Rees-Zammit.
The 24-year-old has spent the past couple of years trying his hand at American football but has returned to rugby union with Bristol Bears.
Rees-Zammit is pure x-factor both on and off the pitch. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
On the subject of ball carriers Jake Ball’s decision to reverse his retirement and return to the Scarlets will also have caught Tandy’s eye.
The 34-year-old will need to get back into shape and prove he has still got it but if he can perform well for the Scarlets he could add something to the Wales squad at least for the short-term.
One of the main reasons Scottish rugby has succeeded in pulling itself out of the doldrums is down to the success of its exiles system.
There are many people who do not like this method but it is hard to look past the way it has helped Scotland with the likes of Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman, among others, having been brought on board.
Prior to its disbandment it is understood the WRU’s exiles system had their eye on a handful of Welsh qualified players in the Southern Hemisphere with Crusaders Tahlor Cahill and Hurricanes centre Riley Higgins two names mentioned.
There are also numerous dual-qualified players in England who Tandy could do worse than look at.
Tandy’s potential first team: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Max Llewellyn, Ben Thomas, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Henry Thomas, Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard, Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Gareth Thomas, Archie Griffin, Teddy Williams, Tommy Reffell, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady.