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Wales head coach Steve Tandy explains his selection for Wales’ clash against the Barbarians
Wales head coach Steve Tandy insists Wales will treat this Saturday’s clash against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham like a Test match.
Wales take on the Barbarians in an uncapped match without 13 players based in England and France.
Tandy has named four new caps on the replacements bench but has selected as strong a side as possible to start.
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Here’s everything the Wales boss said as he held court with the Welsh media.
How nice is it to have Jac Morgan back?
“It has been brilliant to get him in the environment. We’ve had a good four or five weeks training with him as well so that’s been good.
“The energy he brings and the quality on top of that. We had him for less than a half against Argentina so it is a brilliant lift for the group.
“You can see how much Jac loves being here as well so that’s awesome.”
How big a decision was the captaincy for you?
“I don’t think it was difficult. I took my time to think about it but when I looked at it with Jac coming back in I think Dewi has done an outstanding job in Jac’s absence.
“I think the way Dewi has developed the links with the referees and the way he’s developed I thought it was right for the summer period that Dewi continued to do that.
“I had a conversation with Jac. I think it tells you everything about the character Jac is.
“He was like ‘I’m just honoured to be back in the squad.’ He’s a class human being and he’ll be right there alongside Dewi.
“It’s not just about Dewi it is about the other leaders like Josh Adams, Tommy and Joe Hawkins stepping up.
“So, I think we’ve got some amazing leaders there that all support each other.”
What are you expecting from Teddy Williams who is playing his first game since October?
“I think he’ll bring loads of energy.
“I think there’ll probably be a few nerves from him just coming back in the environment.
“It is the first time I’ve coached Teddy. He’s been brilliant.
“The energy he brings and the athletic ability he has.
“He’s a really smart guy as well so it has been awesome to have him back in. It’s exciting and I’m really happy for Teddy to be back in the team.”
What are you expecting from the four new caps you’ve selected on the bench?
“It’s brilliant. As a coach it is brilliant to have the opportunity to see them as well and see the hard work and different stories as well.
“Ryan Woodman has been excellent and then there’s Rhys Barratt whose done really well for Cardiff.
“Ben Warren has shown lots and he’s come in in and around the campaign. Then there’s Harrison Keddie and the story around him being almost in his thirties.
“It has been brilliant for him and the way he’s trained has been excellent. They all thoroughly deserve the opportunity.”
There’s no Josh Adams, Alex Mann or James Botham in your side?
“Josh has come back a little bit later because of the quarter-final (Stormers v Cardiff). He’s been training well and we know how experienced Josh is.
“Manny (Alex Mann) has just been coming back into training. He’s training fully now but when we’ve got fit guys ready to go who have done the whole camp we felt that was the right decision for selection.
“Jim is in that same boat.”
What is the value of this game?
“The value is it is another game for us playing together. It is great preparation.
“You know the Barbarians there’ll be a lot of demand. There’ll be a lot of things that will be unexpected and a lot of our guys wouldn’t have played for a period of time as well.
“It’s great to get that hit out leading into three big Test matches.”
When will you trim the squad?
“It is going to be difficult but it is a great opportunity to set the market down.
“We will gather up on the weekend and make that final cut early next week.”
How have you adapted to the heat?
“The S&C and medics are brilliant with that.
“We have a process with the temperature and the humidity. There’s all processes in play but also it is about adapting to it.
“It will be a great opportunity to test that out on the weekend. There’s no stress about the heat apart from them running around in it.
“Yeah, everything is in place for that.”
How do you stop George North?
“I think firstly congratulations to George on an amazing career and what he’s done for Wales.
“He’s been unbelievable. It has always been watching him. He’s been an outstanding player and a Wales great so it is probably fitting he goes out against Wales which is great.
“We know his attributes. He’s big, strong and fast.
“Everything you’d want.
“He’s an amazing player but again we’ve got to be ready. It’s a great opportunity to get our younger backs to go up against George and test themselves out.
“Like Joe and Eddie. It will be great to go up against a Wales great.”
What’s it going to be like playing against Elliot Dee?
“I think it is brilliant. I have no doubt in my mind Elliot will be gunning for it which is what we want.
“That’s what we want. We want more competition from boys who haven’t been in this squad.
“We want it to be competitive. We want a competitive group and we want competitive selections.
“That position is something we probably have a little bit of depth. Firstly we can see Elliot playing as well.
“The more competition we create the better it is for our game moving forward.”
Do you view this game as a chance to try out new players?
“There’s a bit of finding out but it is really important to us that we build.
“We haven’t played together since the Italy game so how quickly can we find that cohesion and how quickly can we find where we were and hopefully adapted a few things in our game.
“We are treating it as a Test match and the training week has been no different in the mindset and intensity.
“We’ve seen some of the players listed in that Barbarians team. If you are slightly off you are going to get punished both sides of the ball.
“For us it has been a focus on trying to get back up to speed really quickly and accelerate on because we’ve always got to move faster than other nations to try to catch up and beyond.”
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