New Wales defence coach Peter Murchie is demanding high standards from his players and believes the squad has a high ceiling for improvement. The 40-year-old, who previously worked with Steve Tandy in Scotland's setup and helped Kobe Steelers win the Japan Rugby League One title, sees opportunity in a Welsh side ranked 11th in the world but showing signs of revival after their Six Nations victory over Italy.
Murchie's vision for Wales defence
Murchie inherits a team that has struggled defensively in recent seasons. In Steve Tandy's first nine matches in charge, Wales conceded 372 points and 53 tries, highlighting the scale of the challenge. However, Murchie is optimistic about the young player base. "I see a young player base. We are not where we want to be at the moment if you look at previous results," he said. "We know we are not where we need to be or want to be but there's a lot of potential in the group. There's a lot of young players who have improved a lot in these last two campaigns specifically. I think there's growth in this group and there is a high ceiling. There's a lot of improvement and we can get a lot better. I just saw opportunity."
Non-negotiables and intent
Murchie outlined his non-negotiables for the squad, emphasizing intent and hard work. "I think that in terms of non-negotiables you need to know what you want," he said. "It's getting that across to the group in terms of detail. Every defence coach and every coach has got their own philosophy in terms of how they are trying to coach and what their technical details are going to be. You want to start to see that come across as you go session to session; it starts getting embedded a bit more and obviously following through into the games. It's that intent. It's intent when we are training. What I see from this group is they are not afraid of hard work so you want to see that intent and you want to see that mindset of getting better and improving. When you've got a good mindset like this group has got and you've got an age profile that's young and want to improve it's a good group to get your hands on and want to work with. For me it's that intent, that hard work and that want to get better."
Following in Shaun Edwards' footsteps
Murchie is aware he follows the legendary Shaun Edwards but wants to put his own stamp on the squad. "I'm not going to compare myself to Shaun Edwards but we want success," he said. "You don't come into a new group and not want success. We want success and we want to be part of this group being better. For me that means doing my job at a world class level. I wouldn't take myself too seriously off the pitch but I have got a mentality about me on the pitch. I demand high standards so I look to try to build relationships with the players and build accountability as a group. I think when I'm on the pitch I'm demanding of a standard to get better and improve. I work well with players and look to build leadership within the group so we can grow."
Upcoming challenges
Wales face a tough summer schedule with fixtures against the Barbarians, Fiji, Argentina, and South Africa. These matches will test the defensive improvements Murchie aims to instil. With a young squad eager to learn, the new defence coach is confident that Wales can climb the world rankings and become a more resilient side.
