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After a busy week that saw a pay dispute disrupt preparations, here’s everything Steve Tandy had to say after naming his Wales team to face Fiji.
Did you speak to Louis Rees-Zammit about moving from full-back to wing?
“We always speak to our players. Zammo’s enjoyed playing full-back, but he does love the wing a bit more. He’s really open to playing full-back, but Blair’s done really well and responded to the Six Nations.
“The way he’s gone about training, the way he’s looked after himself, his energy. We’ve got flexibility, but also a bit of depth, so we can move things around, which is exciting.”
How important is continuity in some of the partnerships you’re building?
“I think it’s important for us long-term, as well as the summer. I think we’ve got a young group and I think we need to create cohesion, but also that does come with… you’ve got to play well, too. But that’s exciting. I think we’ve got a young group that are developing.
“They’re brilliant to be around and I think every day you feel they’re learning something extra, they’re getting tighter as a unit. So this will be our third campaign. Going on tour presents different challenges, but different experiences for us to get tighter and learn more about our game and where we’re going.”
How crucial is Josh Adams’ experience to this young squad, given what he’s had to overcome in a Welsh jersey?
“I think he’s super resilient. He’s an absolute quality player, quality human being. What he passes on to the young boys, I think he’s very approachable, so you see young men coming into the camp. He’s teaching, he’s learning. But what I love about him as well, he’s open.
“He’s shared some amazing times with Wales, but he’s had some low moments. But I think that makes him the player he is. I was on the Lions tour with him, he’s a special bloke, special player. To keep physically in the shape you need to be, especially as a back-three player, because that’s about pace as well.
“How he keeps pushing himself to be better, he’s an outstanding leader of the group. There’s always those ebbs and flows, but I think the best players come through those times and they learn from them, but also I think they have the ability to share them with the group because international rugby and professional rugby are pretty brutal.
“So having someone like him in the squad for that is huge. But also I think he’s playing really well, and I thought against Italy, he was fantastic. He’s looking really sharp in training as well.”
What’s the most challenging thing about playing against Fiji?
“You can be in good shape defensively and something can happen. There’s going to be something out of nothing and we’ve got to understand things can happen. We’ve got to respond to that. If we think we can shut everything down, we’re not preparing ourselves well enough.
“That’s where the Barbarians caught us a lot – the speed, the offloads, the kicking game. But our team really work hard if line breaks happen and that is developing in us. We’ve got to be prepared for the chaos that will come about in the game, but it’s how quickly can we bring back the way we want to play too.”
How good will it be to take this Wales team outside of Europe for the first time this summer?
“I’ve always loved tours, whether it’s with Scotland, Lions, whatever it is. You get to know people better on a deeper level because there are probably no other distractions, everyone’s there. You learn more and also, going to different countries, they see different cultures. It’ll be colder in Argentina, where we’re going, so that adaptation, getting used to travelling.
“Because that’s what the World Cup will be – travelling. So I think all those experiences, but I think tours bond you tighter than before. You learn more. Again, we’ll be around as coaches, it’ll be good for our coaches and some of the boys who haven’t been in for a long period of time to get to understand people on a deeper level.”
How has the disruption been to manage this week?
“It’s just always keeping connected with the players. That’s massive for us, but I’m not involved in the negotiations. It’s just making sure we’re checking in with the players and making sure they’re okay.
“And in fairness, the players have been brilliant. The preparation hasn’t been interrupted in terms of our training and how we’ve gone about it. It’s great for us that it’s resolved and we can get really focused on the Fiji game.”
How important were the senior leaders in those conversations?
“People have gone through experiences, and nothing’s perfect. It’s just how you deal with those things. There’s a group there that are really connected, they are tight with each other, and I believe as a coaching staff as well we’re connected with them.
“They’re resilient. There’s lots of stuff that goes on and that’s every day as well. Like I said, it’s brilliant that it’s resolved and we can firmly focus on putting the performance in on Saturday.”
Is it tough having to talk about this, rather than rugby?
“To be honest, I just want to talk about Fiji and the rugby. The only thing I’m really grateful for is it is resolved and there’s no hangover from it. The boys have been really focused when it comes to training. And we will get there at some point where there’ll be a campaign where we just talk totally about rugby.
“I’m just really pleased it’s resolved and the players now can wholeheartedly focus on the game on Saturday, which they’re really excited about. I know what it means for them to represent our nation in the right way. The boys have been brilliant in how they’ve gone about that and learning through where we’re going to go.”
Was strike action ever on the table?
“I just talked to the boys, it’s just about support. Lots of the negotiations, I’m not aware of. And the only thing that’s come out for me is it’s been resolved, there’s been training as normal, the timings of the week have been great. The way the boys have been on the field and in the meetings has been impeccable.”
What’s the mantra for this campaign, having been focused on performance for the first two campaigns?
“Honestly, it’s probably really boring for you, but it is just getting better and focusing on the things that we did really well. And I think that’s where we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We have still got a long, long way to go in around our development, but I do believe we’re getting better. I think we’re getting more competitive, we’re getting a little bit of cohesion in certain places as well.
“I think we’re starting to build on our game model. This is the third campaign, the language is getting more common, whereas from the first campaign to the second campaign, you’re probably going over more things. Now you’ve got a core group that are very similar in terms of the large part of the squad. So that for me is just about keeping building.
“And again, it’s going to be a really good test for us now going away of how far down the track we are with our game model, because you probably look to Argentina, we’re going to fly there, there’ll be two different flights, you get there, you’ve got one training session.
“So this is going to be really good for us as coaches and players to make sure your refinement in the week means we can go out and perform against Argentina. So look, I think this is great development for us, but it’s going to be a good test, and ultimately we’ve still got to focus that we’ve got to accelerate our development faster than before.”
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