Wales target Tandy for vacant head coach role
Wales have targeted Steve Tandy as the new national men's head coach.The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) are looking for a permanent successor to Warren Gatland who resigned during the Six Nations with Cardiff's Matt Sherratt taking over on a temporary basis.Tandy is currently the Scotland defence coach and contracted until 2026 meaning if he accepts the Wales job, it is doubtful he would be in place by the two-Test summer tour of Japan in July.Sherratt is the leading contender to lead that trip before Tandy could take over for the start of the 2025-26 season.The new WRU director of rugby is expected to be officially named this week with Dave Reddin in line for the role.
Tough task
If appointed, Tandy will have his work cut out as he takes on a national side in crisis that have slipped to record low of 12th in the world rankings.Wales have suffered a record 17-match international sequence with no Test victory since beating Georgia in the World Cup in October 2023.Tandy has been out of Wales for seven years after coaching Ospreys between 2012 and 2018, winning the Celtic League title in his first season in charge.The 45-year-old left for Australia for a role with the Sydney-based Waratahs before linking up with Gregor Townsend's Scotland in 2019.He also adopted a defence coach role with Gatland's British and Irish Lions squad in South Africa in 2021.He could be aided in a Wales backroom staff by the likes of Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson and Sherratt, who have previously worked together at Cardiff when the Arms Park side won the Challenge Cup in 2018.
Happy to wait
WRU chief executive Abi Tierney this month told the Scrum V podcast of the criteria the governing body were looking for and why they were content with waiting for the most suitable contender."We've done a lot of work on this, looking at who is out there, analysing playing style, who works well with younger teams and who also understands the Welsh system," said Tierney."We have a target list of who we want to go at. Of course they all want to know who will be their line manager."I've already spoken to the potential new director of rugby about these things and we'd like to appoint a new head coach shortly after that."But depending on their contract and notice period, which is often six months, we might need to have an alternative [coaching] plan for Japan, which we are working on."
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