The 23-cap international admits he has “two different relationships” with Wales bosses Warren Gatland and Steve Tandy

Carre (right) has opened up about his return to international rugby(Image: Getty Images)

Wales star Rhys Carre has opened up about his return to international duty, admitting that his experiences in camp under Warren Gatland and Steve Tandy are like “night and day”.

The Saracens prop left Welsh rugby behind at the end of the 2023/24 season, after falling out of favour with former Wales head coach Gatland. Having last played Test rugby in February 2023, he was released from the New Zealander’s Rugby World Cup squad, with a public statement claiming he “failed to meet individual performance targets set at the end of the Six Nations.”

Falling five caps short of the 25-cap rule when his move from Cardiff to Saracens was agreed, it looked as though Carre would be lost to Wales forever, with the powerful front rower becoming eligible for other home nations later this year.

JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news, analysis and much more

However, he was brought into Tandy’s squad at the first opportunity in the autumn, with the Professional Rugby Board deeming him eligible for selection despite not having the required number of caps.

Having now also been selected in Wales’ Six Nations squad, Carre admits that the experience he had during his first international campaign in nearly three years was very different to the ones he had under Gatland.

“It’s night and day, the difference,” he told SportIn Wales podcast hosts Alex Cuthbert and Dillon Lewis. “Obviously, Steve’s come in with a different mindset and a different way of doing things and I think the boys have enjoyed it.

“You boys have both been in there and it didn’t really change for the last 10, 15 years, did it?”

Asked if he found communication easier with Gatland or Tandy, the prop remarked: “We’ve probably got two different relationships going on there,” before reflecting on the autumn campaign.

“[The autumn] was good,” he said. “Obviously I’d been out for two-and-a-half years so it was a bit of a breath of fresh air and a fair bit had changed.”

“We trained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday which was different, obviously with Steve taking over and Jockey and Danny who coached me at Cardiff. So it was like, yes, it’s new going back into camp but I was also seeing so many familiar faces.

“I obviously played with a lot of the boys from Cardiff, a few new lads who I hadn’t met, so it was good to get to know those boys. But yeah, the autumn was good and I think we showed a bit of what we can do.”

Having heard about the change of atmosphere in camp, former Wales wing Cuthbert added: “All the talk outside was the culture and how well everyone seemed to get on. They actually enjoyed it and we haven’t really heard those words in the years gone past, have we?”

Dragons prop Lewis replied: “No, normally it was you needed a couple of weeks off when you’d left Welsh camp, just because you were so physically and mentally drained.

“But it seemed like everyone was just so excited to be in there, the environment seemed to be really good. I think a change-up probably helped that as well, the schedule being different. You’d have different rooms for different things, a lot of the stuff was up in the barn, was it?

Carre responded: “Yeah, exactly. So, most of Monday was spent in the barn, walkthroughs and stuff, keeping fresh, then two big days and into the team run.”

Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.