Steve Tandy press conference Live updates as new Wales boss faces the media
The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed Tandy's appointment last month five months after Warren Gatland stepped away from the role. The former Ospreys, Waratahs and Scotland coach is the first Welshman to take the role on a permanent basis since Gareth Jenkins in 2007.
He has a difficult task on his hands, with Wales currently 12th in the world rankings having only recently broken a record 18 Test losing streak.
Tandy will be joined at today's press conference by WRU CEO Abi Tierney and director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin.
Tandy's first game in charge will be against Argentina this November with Wales also facing Japan, New Zealand and South Africa this autumn.
On today's agenda will be Tandy's vision for Welsh rugby and his plans to rebuild a rugby nation which has struggled badly in recent times.
This will be done with huge upheaval in the background as the WRU enter a formal consultation process with key stakeholders ahead of a radical restructuring of the professional game which could result in a reduction from four to two regions.
Join us for live updates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wrexham - fantasy football or playing with fire?
Less than a year ago, Wrexham hadn't come close to spending a million pounds on a seems they're making up for lost the Championship prepares to kick-off – and Wrexham prepare for their first game at this level in more than 40 years – the north Wales club have been new players in – including three who were at the last World Cup – and around £12m paid estimated to be among the biggest net spenders in the division, it will be more should they land Ipswich Town's Nathan Broadhead in a deal worth as much as £ that's before the dramatic bump to the wage bill to land the likes of Connor Coady and Kieffer for a club now used to moving up divisions, this summer has been some have wondered how even the club of Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are managing it?So, with an unthinkable fourth successive promotion the reward, are Wrexham playing real-life fantasy football – or are they playing with fire in their ongoing bid to reach the Premier League? 'They've given the gaffer the freedom and trust' "They're not hanging around, are they?" laughs Ben Tozer, the defender who captained Wrexham to the first two of their back-to-back-to-back was among the first of ten players signed prior to the first full season of the club's Hollywood ownership, in the first summer under manager Phil years on, the club have tweaked their model of persuading players from a division above to drop down to director Shaun Harvey recently told goalkeeper-turned-podcaster Ben Foster, signing current Premier League players on Premier League wages was not possible, so the club instead looked at those at the top-half of the former promotion winners Coady and Moore from Leicester City and Sheffield United, both for around £2m each. There was Lewis O'Brien from Nottingham Forest who was among Swansea City's players of the season after moving to south Wales on loan in January. Wrexham were said to have blown their Welsh rivals out of the water when it came to their bid to sign him permanently, with the deal reported as being between £3m and £ fellow Wales international Danny Ward returned to his hometown club on a 'Bosman', with Josh Windass also a free but no doubt on decent wages after his contract at Sheffield Wednesday ended. On top of that there was the New Zealand international Liberato Cacace fresh from three years in Serie A with Empoli, Plymouth striker Ryan Hardie and Bolton midfielder George Thomason. The reported cost for the four signings coming to around £4m."You have to give the owners credit because it would be easy to back off and consolidate after the last few years," added Tozer."But they've given the gaffer the freedom and trust to sign whoever he wants – and it's a different calibre of players."And it's not as if they're running themselves into the ground financially." No concerns over PSR rules Instead, there's room for other clubs – such as Ipswich's £30m exit of Liam Delap – using player sales to offset transfers, Wrexham are – remarkably – living within their not because of the pockets of their A-list may seem hard to believe for a club who will have the smallest attendance in the division given the redevelopment of their Stok Cae Ras not when you consider the incredible revenue numbers, thanks to the global audience their unique ownership gives them. In League Two the money coming in - boosted by big sponsorship deals and commercial activity - was already on a par with many Championship clubs at £26.7mThe next set of accounts is expected to show an uplift of as much as £10m on that. A recent Bloomberg report suggested Wrexham could be looking at turnover of £50m for this coming put it into context, only five clubs in 23-24 (the most recent season for published accounts) earned more – and all benefited from parachute have made losses in recent years, but relatively minor ones – meaning the club is nowhere near worrying about falling foul of profit and sustainability rules (PSR).It's why when Wrexham sources say this summer's outlay has been planned for and budgeted – even having to go from £11m wages in 23-24 to competing with a Championship average of £37m – there is no reason to think they're suddenly going out on a limb. 'Riding the crest of a wave' There are, of course, other investments such as the stadium development, the purchase of a local stadium for the women's team, and plans for the training ground and Tozer admits there might have been the temptation for the club to stand still a little to both catch its breath and catch up with the infrastructure improvements if consolidation is not a favoured word at the Cae Ras (by order of McElhenney), momentum is a phrase many have repeated. It's something seen as priceless for which they are prepared to spend to keep."They are riding the crest of a wave and in front of them is this opportunity to do something that would be up there with the greatest stories and achievements in football," says Neil Taylor, the former Wales defender who began his career with hometown club Wrexham before twice winning promotion from the Championship with Swansea and Aston Villa."It feels like they've said 'Let's give this a go' – and with the finance they have and the money they can generate, why not?"And they have a chance because I don't think you can underestimate the feeling and culture they've built around the place that is just not there at other clubs."It's why, Taylor says, players are asking agents to engineer moves to north Wales and why they can attract over why the current Wales Under-21as assistant believes manager Parkinson deserves credit – and has earned trust – for his careful selection of who to bring into the dressing room."He can smell a bad guy a mile off," adds Tozer, who admits it can be tough to keep the same spirit through change, but backs Parkinson to do it again. "He does a lot of work on who he signs, and he's been in the game so long he uses those contacts to make sure he knows he has the right people coming in."It has allowed the former Charlton Atheltic, Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland boss to constantly evolve his squad – even managing culling cult hero Paul Mullin along the way, and navigating the tricky issue of the imbalance of wages suddenly created by a Championship spending spree."If you get the right guys, which Wrexham have, then you keep to the right standards, and no-one is worried about a slightly flashier car being at the training ground," Taylor signing of Coady is seen as a perfect example - a respected and popular figure who was praised for his qualities off the field when he was in England's squads at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup."I was so happy when he signed," adds Tozer. "He is a massive piece of the jigsaw because he will help sort the dressing room and keep those standards and everyone singing off the same hymn sheet."Then there is the experience Parkinson likes - handling big crowds, the Championship demands and the expectation of playing for big-profile Wrexham - with Moore, Ward and O'Brien all ticking the box, not to mention the likes of James McClean and Jay Rodriguez already at the club. Punching above their weight Whether all this means Wrexham will be able to compete up against sides recently in the Premier League, still remains to be if they haven't always needed it, the club's hierarchy have previously mentioned needing three transfer windows to really find themselves in a new Parkinson will stick to the line that promotion talk is for others, while he hopes to have a greater idea of where Wrexham might stand at the end of August after they face three teams from last year's top-half following the opening day at recently relegated Southampton."It will be a step up," reminds Taylor. "At Swansea it took us a year or two to get to grips with it, but you know you're rarely out of it in that division."At Villa, we'd not been good enough for seven months and then won ten in a row to get to the play-offs."They are punching above their weight, but they can still aim for the play-offs."And if they can stay there or thereabouts, they can always back themselves in January."Judging by efforts so far, it doesn't appear that Wrexham are about to put a price on ambition.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
New Cardiff skipper welcomes shift to youth
New Cardiff City captain Callum Chambers says the club's shift to youth has already drawn a line under their Championship Bluebirds are back in League One for the first time in more than two decades after failing to avoid the drop from the second-tier last they are up and running with a new eye-catching style of play in their new division under recently appointed head coach Brian is a fresh-faced Cardiff team too, with nine academy graduates involved in the opening day win over Peterborough and the starting XI boasting an average age of just 22."Everyone is really excited because the style and identity we have now works amazingly with the group and the players we have," said centre-back Chambers, who missed the weekend win through suspension but will return for Thursday's trip to Port Vale (20:00 BST)."I was so excited to watch the [Peterborough] game because of how young the squad was. It's a really talented squad and I think that's what's exciting about the project ahead."There's a path going forward in the way we want to play and the vibe around the place is really good." The junior Bluebirds buzzed in their first third-tier test, including stand-in skipper Rubin Colwill (23) and younger brother Joel (20), with the pair starting a league match together for the first while the likes of Cian Ashford (20), Joel Bagan (23), Eli King (22) and Isaak Davies (23) had tasted league action before, goalkeeper Matt Turner (23) and defenders Dylan Lawlor (19) and Ronan Kpakio (18) really seized their 30, former Arsenal defender Chambers can very much be considered a senior figure at Cardiff City Stadium, but has seen first-hand the value of placing faith in youth having come through a Southampton academy that produced a string of Premier League talents from Gareth Bale to James Ward-Prowse."I think it's just so important for every club to have that pathway," said Chambers, who was named new captain last week."At Southampton, it was so obviously there and you knew they wanted boys to come through and want them to do well."I was lucky enough to get that and I think it's clear there's one here which is great for the club."Chambers said Barry-Murphy – a former academy coach at Manchester City – has promised to give opportunities based on the training ground work, with intensity levels "through the roof" as a result."The whole identity of the team, the way we train, the energy, the way we play has completely changed," he added.
Wales Online
2 hours ago
- Wales Online
Graham Price: Lions didn't fulfil their potential and duo did not justify selection
Graham Price: Lions didn't fulfil their potential and duo did not justify selection The Lions tour was ultimately a success for Andy Farrell's men but they would have been beaten by New Zealand or South Africa, argues Pricey The Lions beat the Wallabies 2-1 in their three-Test series (Image:) Winning the Test series is what it is all about and you can only beat what's in front of you. The Lions certainly achieved that. The Australian media claimed that 'this was the tour that the Lions stole', after the dramatic way the Lions came from behind to win the second Test. However, it is a series win and they don't happen very often. In 50 years' time the tour will be judged according to the playing record, irrespective of quality or circumstances. What continues to maintain the Lions' ideology are the Lions supporters' tours and the tens of thousands of fans who travelled to Australia. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. It certainly captured their imagination, as it did for the Aussie fans in creating a record-breaking attendance for a Lions' Test match in excess of 90,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Article continues below Having personally helped to manage supporters' tours with both the Lions tours and to the Rugby World Cup, I would say that the Lions tours would win every time. As ever in professional sport, everything boils down to finances and in that respect the tour has been a resounding success commercially. Andy Farrell and his team deserve much praise for the rare achievement of winning a Lions series, but I had the strong feeling that they did not realise their full potential. Farrell's contribution as Lions coach is difficult to judge. His appointment was based on his success with the Ireland of two years ago. As a consequence, you would expect his Lions squad selection to contain a significant number from the Irish team. However, it seems that Farrell's allegiance to some of his Irish internationals was at least a year out of date as they were currently not playing at their best. It will always be much more difficult to organise a squad of players from four different countries than from one individual country such as New Zealand, South Africa or Australia. They can build up to it in a similar way that they do for the Rugby World Cup, whereas the Lions are not able to do so. One of the main issues with the Lions tours taking place every four years is the chance of the best possible Lions team meeting the best opposition is fairly remote. As a consequence, there will always be an element of 'what if' about any Lions tour. But, unfortunately, it's always got to be a case of 'it is what it is.' The selection of the Test team will always be the subject of debate. Some of Farrell's choices, such as Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Tadgh Furlong, James Lowe and Bundee Aki had not really shown their best form during the provincial games. However, I had the feeling that the Test team was selected before the tour started. Beirne and Curry belied their previous form and performed exceptionally well. Furlong played well in the first two Tests but when the Aussie forwards increased their physicality in the final Test he struggled. Lowe and Aki at no stage justified their selection. In last week's column I stated that I believed the best players should be picked to start. I was specifically referring to Ellis Genge. Genge was the best scrummaging loosehead and most dynamic prop. Why on earth shouldn't he start? His contribution, along with the absence of Joe McCarthy following his injury, in matching Australia's physicality early in the game were missed. In fact, deficiencies in our front five were badly exposed, especially the lack of a Martin Johnson-type enforcer. In some quarters, the second Test was considered to be the greatest-ever Lions victory. When you consider the way we came back from being so far behind, to win the game in the dying seconds, albeit in controversial circumstances, was commendable. The Aussie team got better the more games they played and, consequently, they made the Test series much more competitive. But, it's ridiculous to compare it with previous Lions wins over South Africa or New Zealand or even Australia in '89. The Lions were playing Australia and they won the series. They have to be given full credit for doing so. But, to say this is one of the greatest Lions teams against what is a relatively undercooked Wallabies team is probably, in this situation, overused hyperbole. One can only wonder how the results would have gone if Australia had been better prepared with an extra couple of warm-up games. Furthermore, the Lions motivating themselves to gain a place in the record books, after having already won the Test series - and in very difficult conditions - is not the same as Australia playing for national pride. However, I don't believe the Lions would have won the Test series if the tour had been to South Africa or New Zealand. The next Lions tour, in four years' time, is to New Zealand. I don't expect the All Blacks to make the mistake of being undercooked. Article continues below
