Wales’ head coach was overwhelmed with pride after watching his Wales team finally win a Six Nations match
Wales ended a three-year wait for a victory in the Six Nations, beating Italy 31-17 in Cardiff.
Here’s everything Steve Tandy had to say afterwards. You can see how all the players rated here.
What are your emotions after that one?
“I think massive pride within the group. Seeing what they did within the game. The crowd were unbelievable. That connection to our nation is massive and the boys responded to it. It’s a massive emotional day for us.
“Again, it’s been a long time coming, winning in the Six Nations, so I’m overwhelmed with pride. We asked for a performance and we felt if we got a performance we’d get the result. The boys really did that today.”
You were asked about rerformance or result – how important was it to get both?
“I know you think it’s talk, but I genuinely believe it’s performance. Some of the group are growing with experience. We can get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s focusing on what we do and what we do well. It’s transferring what we’re doing in training. I know it’s hard with some of the results we’ve had.
“There are signs with what we’re doing. The way they talk about it, coming in on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the group have been unbelievable to work with. I genuinely believe if you get the performance, the result will follow. It’s a great day for us.”
What have been the main themes in the last three games, given the improved performances?
“I think there was moments in France. It was 19-7 and there was a moment before half-time. We’re finding out more. We’ve got boys who are gaining experience around our team. If you’re not quite on the money against France, you get punished. That was the lesson there. England was a massive lesson for us. We can’t use the past as an excuse, getting individual.
“We didn’t impose anything we wanted to do. We panicked with disciplines, giving penalties away in an emotional state. Since then, every Monday has been brilliant, coming back in. The boys have grown every week since then. You gain a bit of confidence and cohesion as a team. The boys who haven’t played have pushed standards. That tells you where this group are and where they need to go to.”
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Just how good was Aaron Wainwright?
“He’s a fantastic player. We were concerned last week after he had a bump. But I’ve never seen him so focused. Even thought there was a bit of doubt, he said he was playing. There’s a lot of leading with performance. The skipper has been brilliant over the last six weeks. The way he’s integrating with referees, the way he’s learning constantly around his leadership.
“Real good leaders play well. He does that. He doesn’t miss a minute in training. He wants to keep getting better. The whole group have been pushing. I shouldn’t be naming individuals. The boys off the bench keep pushing. It’s a good day to enjoy but we’ve got to keep growing.”
What pleased you most about the performance?
“I think the way we attacked the game. I know it was mentioned after the Scotland game, I was asked about tightening up. When we scored, we went after it. We didn’t consider taking threes.
That’s testament to what they believe and what we want to be. We were brave. They went after it. Even before half-time, they put it in the corner. They feel that when they get in there, they’re going to score. But also the pleasing thing was how we trained this week. You can take your foot off the pedal at the backend of the campaign, but they pushed on. It’s stretching them so that’s been good.”
A word on Dan Edwards after a superb performance?
“Outstanding. There’s certain positions where we’re getting a little bit more competitive, which is exciting. (Sam) Costelow did brilliantly against Scotland, but unfortunately he had an injury. Then Dan has taken his opportunity. It’s brilliant for Dan.
“For us to accelerate this to become a better team, we need competition in positions. We’re getting that, if not the depth of caps. But the more we create competition, it’s brilliant. That drop goal from Dan. You’re probably thinking what are you doing? And he absolutely buries it.”
How pleased were you with the defensive work late on, given you made it so hard for Italy to score – even at 31-0 up?
“In the current game, it’s never enough. Ellis Mee, his effort to get over to the sideline. We’re always talking about margins and those are fine margins. The momentum of the game could change further. There’s never been a question of desire, physicality or work ethic in this group.
“It’s just getting to understand how far they can go with that work ethic, where they can go physically. That was really pleasing. The last 10 minutes did feel long. They did drag out. But the effort of the boys, they’re getting better but we need to go further. We’ve got to be stronger.”