Steve Tandy officially starts on September 1 and he has a mammoth task ahead of him
Finally all the speculation has come to an end after Steve Tandy was officially unveiled as Wales’ new head coach on Monday.
Tandy had been heavily linked with the role for weeks but five months after the Welsh Rugby Union parted ways with Warren Gatland there is finally some stability. The 45-year-old will officially start his new role on September 1 but is surely already planning his first few months as Wales boss.
So, what are the issues Tandy will have to contend with when he assumes one of the most high-pressure roles in world rugby?
He needs a backroom team
This clearly has to be the first thing on his to-do list.
For Tandy to achieve success he needs to surround himself not only with top-end assistant coaches but those who he trusts.
The WRU’s director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin has already said the appointment of a backroom team won’t solely be Tandy’s decision.
Instead they will work together in identifying the right people.
Reddin says there are “no names in the frame at the moment” but it would be a surprise if Tandy did not seriously consider appointing the same backroom team who took Wales to Japan.
Matt Sherratt has been mooted as a potential attack coach, while Danny Wilson (forwards), Adam Jones (scrum) and T. Rhys Thomas (skills) are all contenders. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Neil Jenkins, who was Gatland’s kicking coach, was not included in Sherratt’s backroom team to tour Japan with Leigh Halfpenny preferred.
But Jenkins is a full-time employee of the WRU while Halfpenny has been heavily linked with a move to join French PRO D2 outfit AS Béziers Hérault as a player.
“It is about getting the right people in those spots as opposed to just getting the next people,” said Reddin.
“So, the guys in the summer have done an outstanding job. Matt 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.”
Building a strong working relationship with the professional clubs
This is an area which the WRU wants Tandy to put a big emphasis on.
Rightly or wrongly Gatland was often criticised for his relationship with Wales’ four professional clubs.
There was always a certain friction between the clubs and the national side which has to be different under Tandy.
Wales can no longer achieve success at Test level without alignment and a strong working relationship between the national coaching team and those of the four clubs.
It is encouraging that Tandy has already reached out to the head coaches of all four teams.
As a former head coach of the Ospreys Tandy will be all too aware of the difficulties they face. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
Alignment camps and regular meetings between national and regional coaches to create development plans for certain plans are all potential options.
If Wales does halve the number of professional clubs, one potential benefit could be greater cohesion with the national side.
For the past six years Tandy has been working in a nation which only has two professional sides – Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors.
There are clearly pros and cons to such a reduction but Tandy will have experience of how to make two teams work for the benefit of the national side.
Whatever happens there needs to be significant alignment between the national side, the professional sides and the pathway.
Dealing with the fallout of potential regional cull
There is no way of sugarcoating this.
It is going to be a very bumpy road over the first 12-18 months of Tandy’s reign.
The WRU have begun a consultation process and there is a very real possibility the number of professional clubs will be cut from four to three or more likely two.
It is unclear how long this actual process will take, with the WRU targeting putting the new structure in place for the 2027/28 season at the latest, although the hope is it will happen a lot sooner than that.
There is going to be a lot of uncertainty for players, although the WRU have vowed to honour existing contracts.
But nevertheless there are going to be huge swathes of players whose futures are far from certain.
Despite what is said in public it would be extremely naïve to think this will not affect players and potentially have a negative impact on performance.
While much of this is outside of Tandy’s remit he will no doubt be left to deal with some of the consequences.
Tandy’s man-management skills are going to be tested during the first phase of his tenure.
The autumn internationals and developing a style of play
Tandy’s first Test match in charge of Wales will be against Argentina on November 9.
This will be followed by a rematch against this summer’s opponents Japan, along with two extremely daunting fixtures against New Zealand and world champions South Africa.
Wales’ progress under Tandy cannot be solely measured by results given the lowly state of Welsh rugby but that doesn’t mean he should be given a free pass either.
This autumn a victory over Japan is necessary, while a win over Argentina would be a bonus. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
Realistically Wales are nowhere near competing with the All Blacks or Springboks and the potential results of both those Test matches doesn’t bear thinking about as things stand.
This is a long-term project with a win or two in the autumn followed by a Six Nations campaign where they avoid a third consecutive wooden spoon would be progress.
It’s amazing to think how far expectation levels have fallen but this is where Welsh rugby is currently at.
But on the whole Wales needs something to hang its hat on. Tandy needs to develop a style of rugby and a gameplan which the players can buy into.
The Welsh public needs to be patient.
