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Wales head coach Steve Tandy(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\nThese are your morning headlines on Wednesday, October 29.Wales head coach Steve Tandy(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n
These are your morning headlines on Wednesday, October 29.<\/p>\n
Tandy: Faletau still has Wales role<\/p>\n
Steve Tandy insists Taulupe Faletau still has a role to play with Wales moving forward after the experienced No 8 was ruled out of the November internationals with a knee injury.<\/p>\n
Faletau remains a top-class player but the 34-year-old is regularly sidelined with injury.<\/p>\n
Tandy has looked to the future by selecting 20-year-old Ospreys<\/a> backrower Morgan Morse, while Aaron Wainwright is also an option at No 8.<\/p>\n Tandy is confident Faletau still has an international future but is also excited to see how much of an impact Leicester Tigers backrower Olly Cracknell makes.<\/p>\n \u201cToby is a massive loss,\u201d said Tandy.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a world-class player with an unbelievable amount of experience. You know how passionate he is to play for Wales as well and he feels he still has lots to give and you saw that when he played against the Dragons.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m bitterly disappointed for Toby and I\u2019m disappointed I don\u2019t get to work with him as well and the group. Unfortunately that\u2019s the way sport works and bad luck creates an opportunity for somebody else.<\/p>\n \u201cCrackers comes in not so much with international experience but he has a lot of experience of playing in big Premiership games and cup finals.<\/p>\n \u201cHe plays lots of minutes and is a hard-nosed No 8 so I\u2019m excited to give Crackers an opportunity in the squad as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis tears calf<\/p>\n Wales international Dillon Lewis has confirmed he’s torn his calf and is expected to be on the sidelines for some time.<\/p>\n The Dragons man picked up the injury in the pulsating 19-19 Welsh derby draw with the Ospreys last weekend.<\/p>\n Lewis was a second-half substitute but lasted less than 20 minutes after pulling up injured.<\/p>\n He has now posted that he’s been for a scan and it’s “bad news”.<\/p>\n “Bad news, boys,” he said in an Instagram video.<\/p>\n “We’re back in rehab. Tore my calf on Saturday. Had the scan yesterday (Monday). Results this morning.<\/p>\n “Seeing the physios. It’s going to be a while.”<\/p>\n Wales have the forward firepower to live with Argentina<\/p>\n Steve Tandy is confident Wales have the forward power to compete with the likes of Argentina and South Africa this autumn.<\/p>\n Wales face a huge challenge this November with Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and world champions South Africa rocking up at the Principality Stadium.<\/p>\n Many fans are expecting the worst but Tandy is quietly confident Wales can impose their own game on the Southern Hemisphere giants.<\/p>\n “Definitely,” said Tandy when asked whether Wales has the forward firepower to compete with the likes of Argentina.<\/p>\n “There might be some bigger guys out there but I know how our boys are going to play and how we are going to go after it.<\/p>\n “You’ll see our guys never give up with regards how they go about it. I’m confident in and around where they are physically and again we’ve got to build a game that complements our strengths rather than focusing on what we are going up against.<\/p>\n “For me it is about how do we adapt our strengths onto other people’s game rather than saying we need to go toe to toe with certain people.<\/p>\n “We need to play to our strengths and how we believe we want the game to be played.”<\/p>\n Tandy has moved to add some extra ball-carrying power up-front by recalling Saracens prop Rhys Carr\u00e9 while the uncapped Leicester Tigers backrower Olly Cracknell is also strong in this area.<\/p>\n “As coaches we look at how we want to play but also people who are playing well,” he said. “You can’t pick someone if they aren’t doing it and I think we are lucky enough at the minute.<\/p>\n “Rhys Carre is playing well, you’ve got Nicky Smith and Gar Thom who can all offer things.<\/p>\n “For me we’ve been lucky but more importantly they are playing well and that’s the exciting bit for us. We had a couple of boys back from injury, then you have Jac (Morgan) back from the Lions so I feel we have got those men.<\/p>\n “Hopefully we can get them all on the field at the same time so that will help us in and around our attacking game but also it’s about building competition as well.<\/p>\n “When we bring players in who are playing well I think there’s real competition outside of that which is great for us.”<\/p>\n Tandy’s successor impressed<\/p>\n By Anthony Brown, PA<\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s new defence coach Lee Radford believes Gregor Townsend\u2019s side are ready to come into full bloom.<\/p>\n The Englishman arrived in Edinburgh earlier this week to begin his role with the Scots as they gear up for their November Tests against the United States, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga.<\/p>\n Radford \u2013 appointed successor to Steve Tandy, who left in July to become Wales\u2019 head coach \u2013 feels he has joined the Scotland set-up at a time when their key players are entering \u201ctheir best years\u201d and ready to deliver on their promise.<\/p>\n \u201cI think fundamentally I\u2019ve always had an ambition to coach at an international level,\u201d Radford said at a press conference on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to coach some of the best players in the world, and it\u2019s not one you pass up on.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s two real pluses for this group. The average age is a good age. It\u2019s coming up to their best years almost. Secondly, the amount of caps they\u2019ve consistently played together. The cohesion amongst the group is another strength.\u201d<\/p>\n Radford, who will continue to combine his Scotland job with his role as Northampton\u2019s defence coach until the end of the season, is excited about building on the foundations laid by predecessor Tandy.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally when you get a job it\u2019s on the back end of somebody else not doing something so great but I\u2019ve come into a job where you look across the board and they\u2019re in a good space defensively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a sound defensive team. System-wise, the stats don\u2019t lie. They\u2019re very tackle efficient, very line-break efficient. There\u2019s a couple of other little bits I really want to get after.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve only been in three days but the buy-in has been really big. Even speaking to the senior players or the defensive leaders, they were singing from the same hymn sheet as well, so I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Radford hopes Scotland can show the \u201ckiller instinct\u201d required to deliver some big results next month.<\/p>\n \u201cI think knocking one or two of those sides off, starting with the games coming up, the All Blacks game and Argentina, it won\u2019t do us any harm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Scotland have shown over the last couple of seasons how well they can compete, and having a little bit of that killer instinct amongst the big boys is obviously the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n * Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. 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