Wales have the talent to rise again, says rugby head coach Tandy / Photo: Philip FONG - AFP
Wales have the talent to rise again, says rugby head coach Tandy
New Wales rugby union head coach Steve Tandy believes he will have the talent at his disposal to meet the ambitious target of a return to the world's top five sides.
Tandy becomes the first Welshman to coach the national side since 2007 when Wales have slipped to 12th in the world rankings and had lost 17 successive matches before beating Japan last month in the final game of Matt Sherratt's interim reign.
Wales were 2019 World Cup semi-finalists under Warren Gatland and Wayne Pivac's side won the 2021 Six Nations Championship.
But Pivac's reign quickly unravelled and Gatland's return produced no upturn in fortunes, with his departure coming during the 2025 Six Nations in February.
The Welsh Rugby Union has stated it wants to see Wales in the top five in the world by 2029.
"The privilege and the honour to be head coach of your national country is massive," said Tandy, who has ended a six-year stay as Scotland defence coach to return home to Wales.
"I believe in the talent we have in Wales, to get us to where we want to go.
"There's not going to be a magic wand or a quick fix and then it all changes, but I do believe in the pathway.
"Ultimately you want to have ambition. We want to have ambition to meet those targets, but ultimately there's a process to get to that as well."
Tandy won the Pro12 competition in six years at Ospreys but left the Welsh region in 2018.
He worked for NSW Waratahs in Australia before moving to Scotland, while Gatland made him defence coach on the British and Irish Lions' 2021 tour of South Africa.
Tandy takes up his role on September 1 and will prepare for autumn home games against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
M.Campbel--EWJ
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