Tandy insists Wales match fees dispute leaves 'no hangover' ahead of Fiji opener

Steve Tandy has moved to reassure supporters that Wales’ Nations Championship campaign will not be derailed by the match fees row that threatened to overshadow their opening fixture against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

Players refused to fulfil their media obligations on Wednesday as the Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association held talks to resolve a payment dispute over the new competition. An agreement was reached by early Wednesday evening, ensuring the fixture would go ahead without further disruption.

“The only thing I’m really grateful of is it is resolved and there’s no hangover from it,” Tandy told reporters. “The boys have been really focused when it comes to training. We will get there at some point where there’ll be a campaign where we just talk totally about rugby.”

The episode represents another uncomfortable moment for the WRU, whose players threatened strike action in February 2023 just days before a Six Nations match against England in Cardiff. Tandy confirmed he played no part in the negotiations but said he had been “checking in” with the squad throughout.

“It’s just always keeping connected with the players. That’s massive for us,” he said. “In fairness, the players have been brilliant. The preparation hasn’t been interrupted in terms of our training and how we’ve gone about it.”

On the pitch, Wales make six changes from the side that beat the Barbarians last weekend — an uncapped fixture for which their England and France-based players were unavailable. Josh Adams, Tomos Williams, Rhys Carre, Adam Beard and Alex Mann all return, joined by Louis Rees-Zammit, who shifts from full-back back to the wing.

Rees-Zammit started all five Six Nations matches at full-back but subsequently told Bristol head coach Pat Lam he preferred to play on the wing. Tandy acknowledged the preference while pointing to Blair Murray’s strong form as reason for the positional switch.

“Zammo’s enjoyed playing full-back but he does love the wing a bit more,” Tandy said. “Blair has done really well and responded to the Six Nations — the way he’s gone about training, the way he’s looked after himself, his energy. We’ve got flexibility but also a bit of depth that we can move things around, which is exciting.”