Business as usual at Scottish Rugby amid Steve Tandy to Wales rumours as 'impossible task' warning fired

It remains business as usual at Murrayfield amid reports that Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy is wanted to become the new head coach of Wales.

Tandy, who has served on Gregor Townsend's coaching staff since 2020, has been touted as the Welsh Rugby Union's preferred candidate for the role vacated by Warren Gatland during the Six Nations.

Cardiff's Matt Sherratt took charge on a temporary basis - overseeing the defeat to Scotland as well as losses to Ireland and England - and is tipped to remain at the helm for the two-Test summer tour of Japan in July with reports in Wales claiming that Tandy is being lined up as permanent successor in time for the start of the 2025-26 season.

Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy has been heavily linked with the Wales head coach vacancy. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The Scotsman understands that Scottish Rugby has received no approach from their Welsh counterparts with regards to the 45-year-old Welshman, who is under contract with Scotland until April 2026. Tandy is also understood to have distanced himself from the rumours.

Tandy previously spent six years as head coach of Ospreys between 2012 and 2018, a club he represented as a player over 100 times. The former flanker was also part of the British and Irish Lions coaching team in 2021.

Whoever is appointed Wales’ next permanent head coach faces the difficult task of turning around an ailing national side that has endured a record 17 consecutive Test defeats and has slipped to its lowest ever position of 12th in the world rankings.

Former Wales hooker Richard Hibbard has thrown his weight behind a move for Tandy and insisted he should be given a long-term deal.

"I would love Steve to come in and it would be a fantastic appointment," Hibbard told the BBC Radio Wales phone-in. "It is a mammoth task now if you look at Welsh rugby and my only concern is the WRU remit he could be given.

"This is not going to be a quick fix. This is almost a two World Cup cycle and that is what you have to give him. You can't expect results to improve overnight. He has to build, not just the current squad but also the conveyor belt behind it.

"Until we get that right, it is an impossible task for anybody."