Steve Tandy rules out ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to heavy Wales defeat by England
Steve Tandy has ruled out overhauling his Wales team in response to Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations rout by England with Louis Rees-Zammit set to continue at full-back.
Wales’s tryline was breached seven times in a 48-7 mauling at Allianz Stadium that extends their losing run in the tournament to 12 matches amid a sequence of 22 defeats in 24 Tests.
A woeful first half – they entered the break 29-0 behind – was arguably their lowest point yet, but Tandy will not be taking drastic action ahead of France’s trip to Cardiff on Sunday.
“There’s going to be nothing knee-jerk around it and ultimately I knew this when we took the job,” said Tandy, who took over as head coach in September.
“We’re playing one of the best teams in the world and it’s not going to click overnight.
“This is part of experiencing these moments and using them as learning experiences, making sure we adapt for the coming games.
“We’ll always look at ourselves in the mirror. We know where we’re at in our journey.
“But we believe we can accelerate our development and what was most frustrating is that we didn’t do so.
“They’re a great group to work with. They adapt and are putting everything in their power to be where they want to be.
“We are really disappointed with ourselves. Even though we’re 11th in the world, we expect more of ourselves. It’s part of our journey.”
Rees-Zammit’s first Six Nations appearance since returning from his attempt to break into the NFL was also transitioning from wing to full-back.
Targeted with a series of kicks from England fly-half George Ford, he stood up well enough given his lack of experience at 15 and in the second half he surged through the home defence in a carry that demands he sees more of the ball.
“Louis did really well in his first start at 15 in a while for us. In Test match rugby there’s not much space anywhere but he adapted well to full-back with the aerial battles,” Tandy said.
“He’s a big man. He did light the game up in moments. It’s about looking how we can get those moments a little more.”
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“knee-jerk reaction”!!! More like “kick up the ar*e reaction” would be more apt. Message to the team should be: “Play better rugby and maintain discipline or find another job”. I have seen better amateur club rugby played on a Saturday afternoon by under 16s and younger.
if Tandy keeps the players who performed badly and were guilty of bad indiscipline and got yellow cards – he is saying that OK I don’t mind… That side did NOT contain the best players in Wales and certainly wouldn’t frighten my Granny- who was 5 foot tall….
Look out yet another Welsh coach who says a lot without saying anything and thinks he’s fooling the public. What on earth have these people been up to the last couple of weeks whilst the rest of us have been out earning a crust for significantly less than Tandy his fellow coaches ( I use the word coach without a hint of irony) ) and the players earn. Start taking accountability make some bold decisions and maybe do a bit of actual coaching as well
Money for old rope. Stop their wages until they get a win and start paying them at a graduated rate if they do. They will soon perk up as most of the players have no work experience or professional qualifications other than rugby. They would all end up on the dole.
Mike Ruddock took over a failing Welsh team and won a grand slam as did Warren Gatland so Mr Tandy is wrong that it cant be changed overnight!! he also states that “They adapt and are putting everything in their power to be where they want to be!” if they wanted to be the laughing stock of the rugby world then they are exactly where they want to be. The worst thing about Saturdays result is the pity we are recieving from the press and ex players about how bad we are! As for the no knee jerk reaction then… Read more »