3 days ago
Welsh coach says 'there are no better players in Wales than those two' in message to Steve Tandy
Welsh coach says 'there are no better players in Wales than those two' in message to Steve Tandy
Tom Rogers has become a regular in the Wales team over the last year
Tom Rogers celebrates after scoring against Japan in Kitakyushu
(Image: Getty Images)
Former Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan has heaped praise on Wales backs Joe Roberts and Tom Rogers, claiming there are "no better players in Wales" than the Scarlets pair when confident.
Flanagan, who recently joined Gallagher Prem outfit Saracens as attack coach, worked with the pair at the Scarlets, with both having broken into the Wales team in recent years. Wing Rogers has become a regular in the last year, starting in seven of Wales' last nine Tests since making his debut in 2023.
As for Roberts, the centre also started to force his way into the matchday squad towards the end of this year's Six Nations - also featuring off the bench in the first Test in Japan this summer.
For Rogers in particular, this season has marked a real breakthrough. It's understood the 26-year-old had previously been focused on playing his rugby at full-back. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
However, upon deciding to just commit to playing rugby wherever he was picked, he has enjoyed a run of Tests for Wales on the wing. With a new head coach in Steve Tandy to impress, Flanagan's words of encouragement will no doubt be a big boost of confidence to Rogers, and indeed Roberts.
Speaking on the Walkers Only Podcast, Flanagan picked out Rogers - along with Roberts - as players who transformed themselves simply through the power of confidence.
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"Joe Roberts at the Scarlets, when he's confident and being backed, you can see he's had a great two seasons down west," said Flanagan. "They've given him weapons to go out and use his left foot.
"A boy called Tom Rogers, who's a Wales wing. He can do some stuff no one else can do.
"But keep telling him he can do that. Because when those boys are confident and humming, there's no better players in Wales than those two.
"It's been great to see Tom develop while I'm not there, having worked with him since he was 15. He's a very smart kid.
"He knows how the world works. He was comfortable working for Castell Howells in the mornings before academy training.
"He set up some sort of coffee cart himself. When he's confident, he's pretty tough to handle.
"Those two, I know, the more you give them, the more they give you." Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
After the podcast's host, Wales rugby league international Ollie Olds, called Rogers a "freak" having watched him in this year's Six Nations, Flanagan praised Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel for helping both Rogers and Roberts kick on in recent seasons.
"It's just great for me, having worked with them as kids, to see them coming through," added Flanagan. "You think maybe I've had an effect helping them a little bit.
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"Dwayne's done a good job with them, getting them to where they are now - which is international rugby players."
