Latest news with #SteveTandy
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dave Reddin steps in with new candidates in Wales head coach search
Dave Reddin is about to stamp his own authority on the Welsh Rugby Union's search for a new head coach. The WRU's new director of rugby and elite performance does not start full-time until September 1, but will be heavily involved in the search for Warren Gatland's long-term replacement. WRU chiefs sounded out a number of potential candidates before Reddin's appointment, with Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy the leading contender for the vacant role. But WalesOnline understands Reddin has looked at the work that has gone on before his appointment and wants to stamp his own authority on proceedings by bringing new names to the table. READ MORE: Andy Farrell makes feelings clear on Welsh Lions call-ups despite lowest touring party in nearly 90 years READ MORE: Lawrence Dallaglio's estranged wife puts £2.7m home up for sale to save him from bankruptcy The WRU will retain Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt as interim head coach for this summer's tour of Japan because they have left it too late in the day to get a permanent replacement for Gatland in time. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. The likes of Tandy, Ireland coach Simon Easterby and Glasgow Warriors' Franco Smith remain strong contenders for the job but WalesOnline understands Reddin wants to also look at some new options. Wales could also consider former England head coach Stuart Lancaster who has been out of work since parting ways with Racing 92. Lancaster was a contender for the Wallabies job but Rugby Australia instead opted for Queensland Reds head coach Les Kiss to succeed Joe Schmidt in 2026, meaning the former England coach is back on the market. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. In a previous interview Reddin said he wanted the new head coach to be fully immersed in the Welsh game, with the remit expected to go over and above just coaching the team. Working with Wales' four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - is also essential along with the senior pathway. "The head coach should be someone who is collaborative, curious and open-minded, as opposed to coming in with a very fixed view of, 'This is how I do it'," said Reddin. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free "This is not a part-time thing. We want someone who is part of the system all of the time and is going to be interacting with junior teams, academies and regions; not just being there for the Test matches."
Wales Online
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Wales' new chief speaks for first time on head coach search, Steve Tandy and unpopular calls
Wales' new chief speaks for first time on head coach search, Steve Tandy and unpopular calls Wales' new director of rugby gives his first interview Dave Reddin, Director of Rugby and Elite Performance (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd ) Dave Reddin has revealed that Steve Tandy is in the running to become Wales' new head coach, insisting he's ready to make bold, even unpopular, decisions to shake up Welsh rugby. Reddin has today been unveiled as the WRU's new director of rugby and elite performance and his first job will be to appoint a head coach with Tandy the favourite to get the role, while the likes of Ireland's Simon Easterby and Glasgow's Franco Smith have also been heavily linked with Wales. "Steve is one among many names who are contenders," Reddin told WalesOnline. "He would certainly be in contention with a decent amount of other people. Article continues below "A couple of days ago we had a two-hour briefing from all of the people that had been involved with that process so far. I understand the process they've been through so far to identify talent. "That started with about 150 names globally which is not necessarily a difficult exercise to do. There's been some filtering of that list down. "I want to pick up the reigns now and I'm going to be working intensively on the head coach appointment in the next few weeks. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "We are in the double-digit range. It's a longer shortlist, if that makes sense. "I'm aware there's been lots of names in the press but from my point of view no decision has been made yet. I'm two days in from being involved in the process. "I want to make sure that's really robust. I know that Abi (Tierney), Richard (Collier-Keywood) and the board are keen that this is the right appointment and not just the quick appointment. "We need to make some more time on that to make sure we get it right." Reddin was part of the England coaching team which won the 2003 Rugby World Cup under Sir Clive Woodward, while he has also worked for the FA. He will join the WRU full time on September 1 but will progressively increase his involvement from July 1. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free Reddin has a difficult task on his hands with the men's national team in the middle of a record 17-game losing run while Wales Women are currently winless in this year's Six Nations. There is also the case of Wales' four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - who are lagging behind their competitors both in the United Rugby Championship and European competitions. Reddin will take the next couple of months to review Welsh rugby before formulating a plan but insists he is not afraid of making tough decisions in the long-run. "I'll be given the resources and the opportunities to make the big calls as they need to be," he told WalesOnline. "I am someone who embraces change and I'm not afraid of it. "I'm not afraid of making the big calls even if they are going to be unpopular at times. I don't know if that's required yet but I'm not afraid to talk truth when it's required. "I think that's part of my strength coming in from the outside. I'm not as entangled within the system, the emotion of it and the history of it as maybe people who have been there a long time. "My job is to analyse what could be changed and really try to sell that change. Some of those can be small organisational or process things and others might be more structural changes. "This is about sustained success and it isn't about tinkering around the edges and crossing our fingers. Hope is not a strategy. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. "It is about thinking about how do we create a system which can create a long-term competitive advantage for Wales. For me that's really the key here. Article continues below "How do we focus on what Wales have as a real competitive advantage by virtue of its location, the talent it's got in its system along with the culture and passion people bring to it. "You've got to start with what's going well and really understand that first. Inevitably there will be things we can improve on. "Structurally if we are going to be successful in the medium and longer-term there may well be some big calls to make. I'm not going to be afraid to make them at the right time."
Wales Online
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
The truth about Steve Tandy, the crisis meeting he called and what players think of him
The truth about Steve Tandy, the crisis meeting he called and what players think of him The former Ospreys head coach is the favourite to be Wales' next head coach Steve Tandy is understood to have been offered the Wales job (Image: World Rugby ) In what turned out to be Steve Tandy's final campaign at the Ospreys, the problems were mounting up at an uncomfortable rate. Results were going against them. The pressure was ramping up. One of their players even ended up being bitten by a lion in South Africa. It never rains, but it pours. With all that piling up on the shoulders of the coach, he called his players into a meeting one Monday, intent on finding a way to stop their season being completely derailed. "We're not leaving this room until we all start enjoying our rugby again, myself included," was the gist of the honest ice-breaker from the first-time head coach. Article continues below Coming away from that meeting, it felt as though a corner had been turned. In the end, it mattered little. Months later, in early 2018, Tandy's services at the Ospreys were no longer required - dispensed with after failing to overcome Clermont away from home to keep their hopes of reaching the Champions Cup quarter-finals alive. For context, Clermont at the time were the beaten finalists the season before, having won 31 out of their last 32 home matches in Europe. In the Ospreys' pool too were reigning champions Saracens, just to make life that little bit harder. And yet, the Ospreys had gone toe-to-toe with both, drawing with Saracens in Swansea and losing to the English club by just two points away from home. In the end, they ended up missing out on the quarter-finals by just a few points. As Tandy mulls over a return to both Wales and being a head coach, understood to have been offered the chance to replace Warren Gatland, it seems fitting to look back on the last time the former back-row was the main man in charge. The reaction to Tandy being the front-runner - as exclusively revealed by WalesOnline earlier this month - has not exactly been effusive on social media. It has, in all honesty, been met with scepticism. Many have pointed to his record with the Ospreys and the fact that he hasn't been a head coach since, having been in charge of the defence with the Waratahs, Scotland and British & Irish Lions in the following years. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. One coach within the game has already said privately that it is "wild that people don't think Steve would do a good job". They also stressed that the Ospreys was Tandy's first job, one he was thrust into at the age of 32. Steve Tandy during his time in charge of the Ospreys (Image: Huw Evans Agency ) 'A shocking decision' Those who played under Tandy in Swansea are equally as enthusiastic. Former Wales hooker Scott Baldwin is paving his own way in coaching now, taking charge of Bridgend just like Tandy did himself 15 years ago following his own retirement. "Steve is a really good coach," Baldwin - coincidentally the Ospreys player bitten by the lion all those years ago - told WalesOnline. "I've seen quite a few bits that he was poor with the Ospreys. "If you actually look at his time at the Ospreys, we were consistently vying for the semi-finals in the league until the last 12 months or so. "He was very good, very straight. He'd call a spade a spade. But he was quick to move on from it. You could have a heated debate, but once it was done, it was yesterday's news. "He didn't hold things against people. His delivery was really good. "He got unfairly sacked to be brutally honest with you. We changed our gameplan at the time. It was around the time the Highlanders had won Super Rugby." Having signed Ma'afu Fia from the Dunedin-based outfit after their Super Rugby title success in 2015, the Ospreys were then trying their best to replicate the way the Jamie Joseph's side were attacking too. Getting to the touchline, then firing back long bullet passes from nine to the first forward. In theory, it gave you gainline, speed of ball and the ability to play on top. But, for the Ospreys, it just wasn't clicking - leading to some soul-searching. Senior players lamented the fact in meetings that, while it's easy to spot the space in reviews once you hit the pause button on the laptop, that isn't so apparent in-game when you're not winning collisions. Fia, familiar with what had worked in New Zealand, pointed out that the Highlanders had All Black scrum-half Aaron Smith to fizz passes around. Tandy, reviewing the situation, chose to sit down in a room with his players, looking to find the love of rugby again. "We just had an honest conversation about howthe Ospreys fundamentally played the game," explains Baldwin. "I loved that he was open about the fact it wasn't working. "He had the awareness to change and understood the human side of it." After all, Tandy had already tweaked the Ospreys' energy-sapping blitz defence from his playing days - the one that laid the foundations of the 2008 Grand Slam - to a more zonal style of defence with Brad Davis that has informed his coaching with Scotland and the Lions. "After that meeting, we had a decent run of form," says Baldwin. "We played Clermont away and Steve had to win to keep his job. "He had to win to get out of the group in Europe and keep his job, away to a top side. If you look at the build-up, we drew with Sarries at home, lost away to them by two points and lost narrowly to the Scarlets. "I'll never forget that Andrew Millward (then Ospreys CEO) came down to the Vale to tell us Tandy had gone. I remember thinking that was a shocking decision as we had turned a corner. "Was he ready to do the job under the circumstances? I don't know. I think maybe we overachieved while he was there, honestly." The student of the game who was popular with Lions Having won the league within four months of taking the job, Tandy would never lift silverware again. However, the Ospreys did reach the league play-offs on two occasions and narrowly missed out on a few other occasions - all with the backdrop of worsening finances within Welsh rugby. The day after their 2012 league success, the club were hit with a winding up order from HMRC over an outstanding tax debt. The Galacticos era was well and truly over. "To reach semi-finals and make knockouts of Europe, people in Wales will never say we were overachieving, but I truly believe we were," adds Baldwin. "The most important thing is he knows Welsh rugby. He's been through the turmoil. The only question is, if it's going to be tough for the next couple of years, does he want it?" It's a similar sentiment to that put forward by another former Ospreys hooker, Richard Hibbard. "I would love Steve to come in and it would be a fantastic appointment," he told BBC Radio Wales. "It is a mammoth task now if you look at Welsh rugby and my only concern is the WRU remit he could be given. This is not going to be a quick fix. "This is almost a two World Cup cycle and that is what you have to give him. You can't expect results to improve overnight. He has to build, not just the current squad but also the conveyor belt behind it. "Until we get that right, it is an impossible task for anybody." That will be what Tandy is mulling over right now, whether this is the right time for the job. He has been linked with returns to Wales before. Gatland was understood to have been keen on bringing him back when he returned to replace Wayne Pivac, having already taken him on the Lions tour of South Africa by that point. Those on the tour note how popular Tandy was with squad members from all the different home nations when it came to getting his message across and improving them as players. "You don't coach the Lions if you're a poor coach," adds Baldwin. "People say they want an experienced coach. He's been coaching for more than 10 years. "He went to Australia, loved his time there and opened his eyes to another way the game is played. He looked like a different man, like the man who took the job in 2012. "He looked full of energy and charisma. He's just a really good bloke. I hate the phrase, but he's a student of the game. "He's very keen to learn and look at different ways of doing things instead of just being stuck in one way. He can adapt his coaching. "Scotland are a big side. What he coaches there works because they're big, they're physical, they've got big guys who win the aerial battles. "They can buy a lot of time in the tackle. They can deliver that defensive system. He understands both sides of the ball. "I think he'd be a great appointment." 'You're starting. Now f**k off' Another former Wales international, Alex Cuthbert, believes this could be the next step for Tandy in his career. "We can easily say he's been a defence coach and this is probably a big role to take on," said the former wing on Scrum V. "But maybe this is the next thing he wants in the game. He's done his dues with the Lions and Scotland. He's definitely improved Scotland defensively. "I played against them for a number of years and they used to leak a lot of points. We know they're very good in attack, but he's got those attack-minded players to defend as well. "That's one of the hard things. A lot of people buy into what he wants his team to defence like." Getting Wales' players to buy into him, if he takes the job, will be crucial. However, just as important for Tandy will be buying into this group of young talent. As a coach, that is where his focus lies. "He could be grumpy sometimes, but he was very player-focused," explains Baldwin. "He was all about understanding you. "I'll never forget, he sent me to see someone. I'm not sure what the exact role was. She wouldn't have been a sports psychologist because she worked with the military. "But it was around the time of the lion bite. I wasn't being selected. My head had gone and we'd had a massive argument. "Anyway, he sent me to see this woman. It was all because I'd gone in and asked 'Why am I not starting?'. He was quite defensive if you asked that sort of thing. Article continues below "The woman explained that it was a defensive question and you'll get a defensive response. She said I should go in and ask what I need to do to play. It's the same question, but you'll get a constructive answer. "So I went in the following day and asked Steve what do I need to do to start because I want to play. He started laughing and said 'You're starting. Now, f**k off'. "It was a really good moment. If you ask any player who has worked under him, they'll give you the same response."
Scotsman
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Business as usual at Scottish Rugby amid Steve Tandy to Wales rumours as 'impossible task' warning fired
Scotland assistant tipped to become next Wales head coach Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It remains business as usual at Murrayfield amid reports that Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy is wanted to become the new head coach of Wales. Tandy, who has served on Gregor Townsend's coaching staff since 2020, has been touted as the Welsh Rugby Union's preferred candidate for the role vacated by Warren Gatland during the Six Nations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cardiff's Matt Sherratt took charge on a temporary basis - overseeing the defeat to Scotland as well as losses to Ireland and England - and is tipped to remain at the helm for the two-Test summer tour of Japan in July with reports in Wales claiming that Tandy is being lined up as permanent successor in time for the start of the 2025-26 season. Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy has been heavily linked with the Wales head coach vacancy. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group The Scotsman understands that Scottish Rugby has received no approach from their Welsh counterparts with regards to the 45-year-old Welshman, who is under contract with Scotland until April 2026. Tandy is also understood to have distanced himself from the rumours. Tandy previously spent six years as head coach of Ospreys between 2012 and 2018, a club he represented as a player over 100 times. The former flanker was also part of the British and Irish Lions coaching team in 2021. Whoever is appointed Wales' next permanent head coach faces the difficult task of turning around an ailing national side that has endured a record 17 consecutive Test defeats and has slipped to its lowest ever position of 12th in the world rankings. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former Wales hooker Richard Hibbard has thrown his weight behind a move for Tandy and insisted he should be given a long-term deal. "I would love Steve to come in and it would be a fantastic appointment," Hibbard told the BBC Radio Wales phone-in. "It is a mammoth task now if you look at Welsh rugby and my only concern is the WRU remit he could be given. "This is not going to be a quick fix. This is almost a two World Cup cycle and that is what you have to give him. You can't expect results to improve overnight. He has to build, not just the current squad but also the conveyor belt behind it.
BBC News
21-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wales target Tandy for vacant head coach role
Wales have targeted Steve Tandy as the new national men's head 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 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 is the leading contender to lead that trip before Tandy could take over for the start of the 2025-26 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 have suffered a record 17-match international sequence with no Test victory since beating Georgia in the World Cup in October 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 45-year-old left for Australia for a role with the Sydney-based Waratahs before linking up with Gregor Townsend's Scotland in also adopted a defence coach role with Gatland's British and Irish Lions squad in South Africa in 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."
