Steve Tandy reveals where Wales have to be ‘smarter’ and improve if they want beat France
Wales head coach Steve Tandy (inset) while his players form a huddle.
Wales head coach Steve Tandy has urged his players to be “smarter” if they want to beat France in their Six Nations encounter at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.
After starting this year’s Six Nations in disastrous fashion, courtesy of a 48-7 defeat against Allianz Stadium Twickenham last weekend, Tandy’s troops can ill afford another defeat.
But, they face a daunting task when they take on Les Bleus, who kicked off their campaign in style with a 36-14 triumph over Ireland at the Stade de France in Paris.
Wales on a 12-match losing streak in the Six Nations
Wales are currently on a 12-match losing streak in the Six Nations after finishing as wooden spoonists in 2024 and 2025, with their last win in the Championship coming against Italy back in 2023.
Tandy‘s troops came into this year’s tournament after suffering Autumn Nations Series defeats against Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa, although they registered a narrow triumph over Japan.
Despite notching only one victory and battling against Los Pumas and the Springboks, Wales were competitive for long periods in their loss to the All Blacks, but their opponents finished stronger and eventually sealed a 52-26 win.
Tandy was hoping that the positives from that encounter would be used by his players in their Six Nations opener against England but that was not the case as they came off second best in most facets of play, and the final score gave an accurate reflection of that clash.
Unfortunately, Wales’ approach lacked imagination, and they conceded a plethora of penalties while four players received yellow cards with two of those within a 40-second period.
Needless to say, Tandy expects improvements and a much better all-round effort from his charges against France, who are brimming with confidence.
“We’ve got to be smarter,” he said after making four alterations to his starting XV. “We are not South Africa, we are not one of the biggest teams in the world, so we’ve got to be smart, play rugby and hold the ball.
‘We have to play smart around how we attack the game’
“We are not going to go straight through France. Look at their size and 6-2 bench, so we have to play smart around how we attack the game.”
Despite their poor start to the Six Nations, Tandy is confident his players will be more competitive in front of their home fans.
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“[We were] obviously bitterly disappointed with the performance [last week],” he said. “We’ve addressed it in meetings. The boys were open and honest around the fact that we didn’t put ourselves in the game.
“We felt we played into England’s hands a little bit, and obviously, the discipline is hugely disappointing.
“It’s a massive lesson for us. It’s something we need to correct and put more of our game out in the field on Sunday. Round two, back in Cardiff at Principality Stadium how important is that?
“It’s our first home game of the Six Nations. Getting back to the Principality, obviously, we had four games in the autumn, the crowd were incredible.
“I know I’ve spoken a lot about the New Zealand game – the crowd, the energy that brought and the response it brought up. The supporters mean a huge amount to us and it does inspire the players. Our aim on the weekend is to really inspire the fans too.