Steve Tandy’s first Wales squad will be named in the near futureWales head coach Steve Tandy (right) and forwards coach Danny Wilson (left)(Image: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency)

Steve Tandy will name his first Wales squad next week and selection meetings will undoubtedly intensify over the next few days.

Realistically, due to Wales’ shallow talent pool, Tandy will have to select the majority of the same players who were involved under Warren Gatland and Matt Sherratt. But there are still a lot of places up for grabs and Tandy will no doubt want to stamp his own authority on the squad. You can read the team we’d pick to face Argentina here.

Tandy has taken on a difficult task and it is not an easy fixture schedule with Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa coming to Cardiff.

There are a number of key questions Tandy and his assistant coaches will need to answer before he names his squad.

Style of play and identity

This is always one of the first things a new head coach has to work out.

Wales need an identity and they need to find a style of play which gets the best out of the players available.

During the first Warren Gatland era, Wales had a pack of forwards and even a backline who could go toe-to-toe with the strongest teams in the world.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case during his second stint in charge and the game plan arguably didn’t suit the strengths of the players at his disposal.

This is what Tandy has to get right and he needs buy-in from all the players. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

Currently, Welsh rugby hasn’t got the size or the power of most of the other tier one nations, so getting drawn into an arm wrestle would be foolish.

How much of an influence will attack coach Matt Sherratt have with regards the style of play?

“I’m not a coach to say we lack power, my job is to find a different way,” he said towards the end of the Six Nations.

“Perhaps as a nation we’ve got to have ball movement, better shape, try and get one-v-ones and play a faster game – and the players’ conditioning and training week has to be around that.”

There is more than one way to skin a cat and Wales need to find their own way of playing rather than try to emulate other sides.

The pack needs shoring up

While Wales would be foolish to get drawn into an arm wrestle against the likes of Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa this autumn, they still need to front up.

Arguably the main reason they went on a record 18-Test losing streak is because they got bullied up-front and were not able to get enough of a foothold in games.

The Wales pack was too often second best as a unit when it came to the physical confrontations.

One of the prime examples was the 45-24 defeat to France at the Principality Stadium during the 2024 Six Nations.

Wales only trailed 20-17 at half-time and were able to score a couple of well-worked tries but after the break power and size told.

Tandy needs to find a way of shoring up the scrum and tighthead prop, in particular, is an area where Wales need to find answers. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

If Wales want to play a game based on better “ball movement” and “shape” they still need to find a way to get on the front foot and win quick ball.

Who nails down the number 10 jersey?

Another big problem which held Wales back over the past 18 months was the lack of a commanding presence in the number 10 shirt.

The retirement of Dan Biggar left a huge void which Wales have struggled to fill.

Over the past 18 months the likes of Sam Costelow, Dan Edwards, Gareth Anscombe, Ioan Lloyd and Ben Thomas have all worn the number 10 shirt.

There has been a lack of consistency here and Wales really needs someone to nail down the number 10 shirt.

Competition for places is a good thing but nobody has truly convinced at outside-half since the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Tandy needs to select a number 10 and stick with him.

Centre partnership

The midfield is another area where Wales have flattered to deceive since the last World Cup.

There are a number of talented centres but some might argue the correct balance has not yet been struck.

Who wears the number 12 jersey will tell us a lot about how Wales are going to play under Tandy.

Sherratt is a huge fan of Ben Thomas, who is a talented footballer with excellent distribution, a vision and a tidy kicking game.

Thomas is very much in the mould of a traditional Southern Hemisphere second five-eighth but there is a school of thought Wales would be better off going for outright power in midfield.

Johnny Williams may be limited to an extent but he is a big man who is capable of getting over the gainline and making post-contact metres.

Ospreys centre Keiran Williams is the form 12 in Welsh rugby at this present moment in time and deserves to at the very least be in the conversation when Tandy selects his squad.

One coach within the regional game suggested to this journalist Jacob Beetham could be an outside bet to wear the number 12 shirt for Wales this autumn. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.

Beetham is a powerful man but his distribution skills are also good. He also played a lot of his age grade rugby at outside-half.

When Wales were successful under Gatland they had a settled centre partnership, be it Gavin Henson and Tom Shanklin or Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies, who knew each other’s games inside out.

The balance between selecting players based in Wales and England

Take a look at the WalesOnline comment section underneath most Welsh rugby stories and you can guarantee there will be a significant number of comments calling for the abolition of the 25-cap law.

Pick your best players is the message from large sections of the Welsh public.

But were the majority of the squad to be based outside of Wales, that would be hugely problematic for the national coach.

English and French-based players have to miss any training camps leading into a campaign and with this November’s schedule in mind would also miss the out of window Test against the Springboks.

So, Wales could be without the likes of Archie Griffin, Freddie Thomas, Adam Beard, Dafydd Jenkins, Nicky Smith, Max Llewellyn, Louis Rees-Zammit and Tomos Williams, among others, for the clash against the world champions.

That is also something Tandy will have to consider when selecting his squad.