There will be plenty who believe Steve Tandy is on a hiding to nothing as the new Wales coach, but the man who hired him insists it’s still a coveted job.
After all, Welsh Rugby Union director of rugby Dave Reddin says there were over a hundred names to sift through when it came to replacing Warren Gatland.
It is understood Tandy is on less than half of the £650,000-a-year the New Zealander was earning in his second spell in charge.
He might have less than half of Gatland’s profile, too - and perhaps only a fraction of his predecessor’s ego - but Tandy will be perfectly equipped to make a decent fist of things, according to Reddin, himself only just having wiped his feet on the WRU welcome mat.
“Yes, there are challenges. But I fundamentally disagree with the idea that this is an impossible job,” said Reddin, who led the exhaustive five-month global search for Gatland’s successor.
“Are Wales going to be consistently ranked as the number one team in the world for the next 10 years? No.
“But can we be a genuine top-five nation who are constantly competing for Six Nations titles and capable of mixing it with the best in the world? 100%.”
Tandy, 44, takes over the reins officially on September 1st, arriving with a wealth of coaching experience from his time at the Ospreys, Waratahs and most recently as Scotland’s defence coach.
Reddin believes his chosen man’s mix of tactical sharpness, emotional intelligence and willingness to collaborate made him stand out from a highly competitive field.
“First and foremost, he’s an outstanding coach,” Reddin said.
“But beyond that, against the competencies that we wanted for the role, he demonstrated some outstanding character traits.
“His coaching journey shows someone unafraid to push himself into uncomfortable experiences and develop as a result.”
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From a stormy departure at the Ospreys to a reinvention at the Waratahs and then his success with Scotland, Tandy’s path has not been smooth.
And that, says Reddin, is exactly the kind of resilience Wales need right now.
“He's continued to evolve. That’s an amazing quality for our younger players to see — that there’s still growth in everybody,” Reddin added.
Tandy’s appointment also signals a shift in the WRU’s long-term thinking. Rather than expecting a single “unicorn” coach to transform Welsh fortunes alone, Reddin is emphasising a systemic overhaul — with Tandy as the figurehead of a much wider collaborative culture.
“I’m not a believer in unicorns,” Reddin said.
“Whilst the head coach is key and the person out front, I believe systems win in the long term, not just coaches. Steve’s ability to collaborate with the team we want to build across Welsh rugby, including the regions and age-group teams, is going to be a key part of success.”
The issue of alignment between the national side and the regional game has long been and remains a major source of tension.
But Reddin believes Tandy’s strong interpersonal skills and open approach will help unify Welsh rugby.
“He’s a relationship builder,” Reddin said. “He’ll be fully engaged with the domestic system. That kind of collaboration should be a fundamental competitive advantage for Wales. There really should be no excuses for us not communicating.”
The selection process itself was more meticulous than any previous Wales coaching appointment.
Reddin, who joined the WRU earlier this year, took a structured and data-driven approach to filter candidates through a comprehensive competency framework.
When he picked up the original job description, he also decided it needed completely re-writing.
“We started with a global list of coaches. I mapped that against tactical, technical, leadership, planning and problem-solving skills,” he explained.
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“I narrowed it to 30 or 40 names, then 10 to 12, then six for structured interviews, and finally two for a 3.5-hour final interview involving presentations and scenario work.”
Some high-profile candidates had never even gone through a formal interview process before.
“It might amuse you to know that a couple of the coaches I spoke to had never been interviewed. They’d had several jobs, but never a structured interview,” said Reddin.
“Sometimes it’s not the obvious person who’s right. Steve stood out — he has strong views but he’s also prepared to be challenged. That’s someone I want to work with.”
Tandy will be on a three-year contract, which Reddin believes offers the right mix of security and accountability.
“That struck the right balance between the safety and security a coach needs and flexibility for us as an organisation.”
Reddin is under no illusions about the work ahead. The structure of Welsh rugby is under review, with consultations ongoing about potential radical reforms — including binning one, or maybe two, regions.
But he believes passion must be matched with planning.
“Passion on its own is useless,” Reddin said bluntly. “You've got to get all the other bits right as well. Then the passion can carry you somewhere special.”
He also believes that Wales’ size can be a strength — not a weakness — if leveraged correctly.
WRU director of rugby, Dave Reddin. Pic: Alamy
“My mentality is, how do you turn size into a strength? England have a big talent pool, but they’re disconnected. In contrast, Wales still has rugby as its number one sport. That should be part of our super strength.”
Tandy will not be making decisions in isolation. He and Reddin will work together to build the assistant coaching staff, with an emphasis on a similarly rigorous selection process.
Interim coaches like Matt Sherratt may yet play a future role, but nothing is set in stone.
“Steve won’t solely select his backroom staff, but he will be fully involved. We both agree we want the right people, not just the next people.”
While Tandy won’t be leading the off-field strategic overhaul, his insights will be taken into account.
“He’ll be consulted, yes,” Reddin said. “But the strategic work — the consultation with players, clubs, and stakeholders — that’s mine and Abi’s job (CEO Abi Tierney).”
And in case anyone still thinks the Welsh coaching job is a poisoned chalice, Reddin has a clear message:
“If I thought this was impossible, I wouldn’t be here. Nobody gets inspired by a team that says, ‘We’ll rock up and do our best.’
“We’ve got to be more ambitious than that.”
