Steve Tandy: 'That’s not the reality of the current situation'

Steve Tandy insists Wales must embrace selecting England-based personnel after naming a record nine players stationed outside the country for their Nations Championship clash with Japan.

Gloucester trio Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and Max Llewellyn join Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol), Tomos Williams (Saracens), Nicky Smith (Sale), Archie Griffin (Bath), Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter) and Aaron Wainwright (Leicester) in the starting XV.

Three more Gallagher Prem players are on the bench, and the selection represents a huge change since the 60-cap rule was lowered to 25 caps in February 2023 for players to remain eligible to play for Wales.

Only six England-based players were in the 33-strong Wales squad at the 2023 World Cup in France.

“Ultimately it doesn’t matter where they play, it’ll be the best players selected,” said Wales boss Tandy.

“It shows that our players are in demand and that other leagues value them.

“What’s encouraging is that many of them are performing really well in those environments.

“Of course, I’d love every Welsh player to be based in Wales, but that’s not the reality of the current situation.

“We can either complain about having 20 players playing overseas, or we can recognise the benefits. There are always positives, although there are also things we potentially lose.”

One major downside is that Wales’ England-based contingent trained at their Vale of Glamorgan base before leaving halfway through last week to prepare for Gallagher Prem fixtures.

They returned after the weekend to prepare for Japan and the rest of the November programme, which also includes fixtures against New Zealand and Australia and Nations Championship finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

Explaining the need for alignment with English teams, Tandy said: “There are logistical challenges, particularly when players have to return to their clubs to play the weekend before an international.

“But they are coming back with different experiences, things they’ve learned and plenty of motivation to represent Wales. I’ve experienced moving abroad myself and learned a huge amount from it.

“As coaches, we make a real effort to stay connected with players outside camp.

“That includes travelling to see them, having phone conversations, taking them for dinner or meeting them for coffee.

“I also speak regularly with their head coaches to understand how they’re progressing, where they’re performing well, and which areas they need to develop.”

Tandy begins his second full season in charge against Japan, one of the three teams Wales have beaten during his 12-month reign – Italy and Fiji being the others.

Wales have lost nine games under Tandy, but he believes expectations are “probably” growing after an improvement in performances.

He said: “It’s been a brilliant 12 months and the biggest difference has been having continuity within the coaching group.

“The standard of training has gone up another level, and that’s a result of consistency in coaching and consistency around the playing group.

“We’re really excited about the autumn series.”