The Steve Tandy Q&A... challenge of turning the

STEVE Tandy is confident Wales has the talent to become a competitive rugby nation one again.

- STEFFAN THOMAS Rugby correspondent

The 45-year-old held court with journalists for the first time since being appointed head coach of Wales and was bullish about turning his home country around.

Prior to a recent victory in Japan Wales had lost a record 18 Test matches on the bounce while the Welsh Rugby Union are considering cutting the number of professional clubs from four to three or even two.

But Tandy is confident he has the tools to improve Welsh rugby.

“Yeah, I believe in the talent we have in Wales to get us to where we want to go,” he said.

“Ultimately you want to have ambition. We want to have ambition to meet those targets but ultimately there's a process to get to that as well.

“With a young group we have to nurture them, we have to connect to them and we have to be around them more than probably any time before because they are a young group.”

Here is the full Q&A with Tandy which focuses on his plans for Wales, a potential reduction to two professional sides and putting together a new coaching team.

How proud are you to be sat here as the new Wales head coach?

“THE privilege and the honour to be head coach of your national country is massive.

“Being in the changing rooms is even better. I've got huge pride as a sense of family and what a great rugby nation it is.”

Why do you feel you are the right man for the job?

“THE biggest thing is they have seen me and through the process there was nothing but me in and around that.

“I could generally be myself in the way I see it.

“Me as a person I love coaching so much and the journey I've been on from my time at the Ospreys and going to the Waratahs.

“That has given me an experience and the people I've come across has enabled me to be part of this opportunity to rebuild Welsh rugby with an exciting group of young players.