![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_CDF_010126_CF_Dragons_v_Scarlets_093JPG.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe 25-year-old was not part of Tandy’s plans during the Six Nations but has bounced back in style<\/p>\n
Roberts has opened up on missing out on a Six Nations place(Image: Chris Fairweather\/Huw Evans Agency)<\/p>\n
Wales international Joe Roberts has opened up on being left out of Steve Tandy’s Six Nations<\/a> plans, with the Scarlets<\/a> centre now targeting a return to the Test squad following a superb run of form.<\/p>\n While he appeared in the centre and on the wing in five matches for Wales last year, including a full 80 minutes against South Africa in the autumn, Roberts was left out of Tandy’s squad for the tournament, with Eddie James and Joe Hawkins emerging as a promising centre partnership over the course of the campaign.<\/p>\n Despite the disappointment, however, the 25-year-old has responded to the setback in the best possible way, scoring four tries in his last three league appearances, with his tally of seven for the season seeing him become his country’s top scorer in the URC this term.<\/p>\n JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n As he looks to add to his tally at home to Cardiff<\/a> this Saturday, Roberts has reflected on his season, admitting he was disappointed to miss out on the Six Nations but now knows what he needs to do to force his way back following conversations with Tandy and assistant coach Matt Sherratt.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been ups and downs really,” he said. “I have struggled a bit with injury now and then, trying to string a few games together. I was obviously disappointed with the international stuff, but that\u2019s how it is. It\u2019s swings and roundabouts, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n \u201cI have spoken to Steve and Matt Sherratt and they were clear with their expectations. They spoke to me throughout the whole process, between the autumn and the Six Nations, and then after the squad was announced.<\/p>\n “They had their reasons and I have just got to look to finish the season strongly and put my best foot forward to get myself back in there. I\u2019ve had a couple of tries in the last few games, so that\u2019s helped out a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as Hawkins and James, Roberts faces competition for midfield places with fellow Scarlets team-mate Johnny Williams, as well as the talented 21-year-old prospect Macs Page.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a load of competition, but I guess it forces you to perform, so it\u2019s not a bad thing,” he added. “It is driving everyone really.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about going out every weekend, putting performances in and showing we are getting better. That\u2019s key.\u201d<\/p>\n That competition has been welcomed by the Scarlets’ interim director of rugby Nigel Davies, who has been delighted with Roberts’ recent performances.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe has been brilliant for us,” he said. “He has scored some great tries over the last few games. He has shown his capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s someone that has really impressed me. He\u2019s very pacey. The tries he has scored have shown that pace.\u201d<\/p>\n On the selection headache he now faces, Davies added: \u201cThat\u2019s what you want. That\u2019s the level of competition we need right throughout the team in order to push forward and really challenge.<\/p>\n “We have got real quality players in the centre. It\u2019s going to be tight competition there because there\u2019s not much between them.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 25-year-old was not part of Tandy’s plans during the Six Nations but has bounced back in style…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,19428,43326,101,11537,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":{"0":"post-535889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-scarlets","10":"tag-six-nations","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-steve-tandy","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom","16":"tag-wales-rugby-team"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}