Toast of Tonmawr Tandy aiming to make more Welsh Lions

Steve Tandy started his coaching career with Bridgend before a spell in charge of the Ospreys

Fresh from helping Scotland to success in New Zealand and then being confirmed as Wales boss, Steve Tandy quickly headed to his home village where a new job title wouldn't stop heartfelt congratulations turning into ribbing.

The 45-year-old had a busy July with games against the Maori All Blacks, Fiji and Samoa on a Pacific tour and then the announcement that he was to leave the Scots to become head coach of his country.

Tandy starts officially with Wales on 1 September, so where else but Tonmawr as the first port of call to recharge the batteries?

Just days after Louis Rees-Zammit announced his return to rugby there was another Welsh homecoming, as the former Ospreys flanker and boss went through the doors at his local club.

Tandy, who had been part of the management team on the last British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa as defence coach, settled in to watch the final Test against Australia.

Tonmawr RFC play in Division Three West Central

Wales' new head coach – the first Welshman to have the job permanently since Gareth Jenkins in 2007 – was in the clubhouse as the breakfast baps were served.

"I went up to the rugby club to watch the third Test in the morning with my brother and loads of my mates, it was awesome," said Tandy.

"That's where your roots are and the brilliant part about Wales is the community part of it that leads to the game out at Principality Stadium.

Tandy says he has huge pride in the village where he grew up.

"That is what gave me the passion and energy to play the game," he explains.

"I remember my first coach there and think back to the amount of motivation and energy he gave me to play the game, the fun that you have as a kid.

"His sons were there [to watch the Lions Test] as well, so it was a real great moment, but it doesn't last long when you're from a village like Tonmawr. They ripped into me.

"There are handshakes and they are all massively proud, but then it's back to making fun and being a proper rugby club. It was class."

Tandy is quick to point to the high-profile coaches who have helped him rise to the top job in Wales – the Waratahs' Darryl Gibson, the Lions' Warren Gatland, Scotland's Gregor Townsend – but also frequently nods to those closer to home.

"When you get to this kind of job, you realise all the support and help you have had," said Tandy, who coached the Ospreys from 2012 to 2018.

"It's with massive pride that I feel I'm representing the village, who have been there through thick and thin."

Jac Morgan was Wales co-captain at the 2023 World Cup

Making more Welsh Lions

The Lions were on the Tonmawr screen but sadly there was only one Welshman for Tandy to keep an eye on.

Flanker Jac Morgan featured from the bench in the second and third Tests - while the only other Wales player to make the trip was scrum-half Tomos Williams, but his tour was ended by a hamstring injury in the first game against Western Force.

Wales' losing streak - ended at 18 Tests in Japan before Tandy's appointment was confirmed - makes it hard to rail against Andy Farrell's selections.

There is the hope that better results can lead to more players putting their hands up for the Lions visit to New Zealand in four years.

"At the end of the day the Lions is the pinnacle isn't it?" said former flanker Tandy, who worked with a sizeable Welsh contingent for the 2021 series against the Springboks.

"I would love to see more the next time it comes around and know when I was with Scotland the pride that we had, then you see the growth around that.

"A lot of that will be underpinned by how well connected we get with these players, how we can accelerate their development, how they are open to what they want to do and be better.

"I believe we have got lots and lots of talent and we can definitely get to the point of getting more people in the shop window for the next Lions tour, and it would give a real sense of our development if we got more numbers on that trip."

Tandy has honed his coaching skills as a Test assistant but is now preparing to be the figurehead of Welsh rugby.

He has been on the international scene since joining Scotland after the 2019 World Cup but now he has the top job with more media commitments, scrutiny and criticism.

"I've seen how other people do it and speaking to lots of different people outside of the game of how to deal with those moments as well," said Tandy.

"Being the front of it, you have to wear certain things to protect other people and actually leave the players be.

"A role like this does change for me because I can't remember every doing a press conference with so many people and so much formality.

"But it is something that you have to embrace and part of my growth has been from getting uncomfortable with things."

After just one Welsh win since the 2023 World Cup, it isn't just Tonmawr hoping that Tandy quickly gets more comfortable.