Wales set to offer Steve Tandy head coach job

The Welsh Rugby Union are set to offer Steve Tandy the task of rebuilding the men’s national team, according to a WalesOnline report.

Tandy, the former Ospreys player and head coach, has been the defence coach of Scotland since 2019, and has gained a reputation as one of the foremost defensive strategists in world rugby.

Becoming hard to beat is the foundation of any team that has hit rock bottom, as Johann van Graan has demonstrated at Bath, and Tandy’s skillset is suited to such a task.

Wales head into the summer tour to Japan on the back of a record 17-match losing run in test rugby and are in danger of falling out of the top two bands of seeds when the 2027 World Cup draw takes place before the start of next year’s Six Nations.

Tandy, however, might still be under contract to the SRU at that stage, so a contingency coaching group of Matt Sherratt and Harlequins’ Danny Wilson might be put in place to hold the fort until Tandy becomes available.

Sherratt acted as caretaker head coach for the final three rounds of the Guinness Six Nations after Warren Gatland stepped down from the role.

Franco Smith and Simon Easterby had also been shortlisted for the Wales head coach job, but Tandy, who also has experience in Super Rugby with the NSW Waratahs, appears to be the WRU’s number one target.

If he accepts the WRU’s offer of becoming its new head coach, WalesOnline say he is expected to move for Sherratt as attack coach while Wilson and Ospreys assistant Duncan Jones are leading candidates to take charge of the forwards.

The WRU are also thought to be keen on keeping the services of scrum coach Adam Jones, who was a late addition to the coaching group in the Six Nations, after Harlequins agreed to release him on a short-term secondment.

The WRU are also expected to formally announce the appointment of former England fitness coach and FA bigwig Dave Reddin as its new director of rugby over the next few days.