Wales head coach Steve Tandy has defended his decision to drop Louis Rees-Zammit to the bench for this Saturday's Nations Championship clash with Argentina in Santa Fe. Tandy has opted to start Ellis Mee in place of the Bristol Bears flyer, while outside-half Sam Costelow and backrower James Botham also come into the starting XV.
Why Rees-Zammit was dropped
“I think Ellis (Mee) has played really well,” Tandy said. “I thought he was fantastic against Italy and it is an opportunity to move things around. In fairness, Zam didn't train much last week as well and it has been a long travel journey, so there is a bit of thinking around that. But first and foremost, Ellis has been playing outstandingly well.” Tandy added that Rees-Zammit coming off the bench could be an exciting opportunity as the game breaks up.
Sam Costelow gets the nod at fly-half
On selecting Sam Costelow to start, Tandy explained: “It has been brilliant competition between them both. I thought Costy was outstanding when he had his opportunity against Scotland. I'm really enjoying how Dan and him are being competitive in training but they are working tightly together. Dan has been great for us as well. I think part of this is about giving an opportunity to Costy and he thoroughly deserves it.”
James Botham replaces Alex Mann in backrow
Tandy justified starting James Botham over Alex Mann: “We've got real depth in certain positions and that's exciting for us. Jim has done an excellent job. Manny was terrific as well, coming back from his injury to put a shift in against Fiji. We've got an opportunity to change a few things around while keeping lots of cohesion. I think he (Mann) will get back into the selection mix next week. We are trying to manage them especially in certain positions where we can.”
Kane James impresses Tandy
Speaking about uncapped Exeter backrower Kane James, Tandy said: “I've met Kane a few times. I think his personality and there's a human being element. He's really driven and the way he goes about his game is outstanding. The energy and the detail he brings. He's fearless as well whenever he takes the field for Exeter. I just think he's a fearless young man who thoroughly deserves an opportunity. He's been brilliant since he came in from day one. Sometimes when you get new people come in they can be tentative but he has just ripped straight in and fitted in to the group environment. I'm excited to see how he goes on the weekend.”
Ryan Elias reaches 50 caps
On hooker Ryan Elias earning his 50th cap, Tandy commented: “It's a remarkable achievement. I think getting a cap is some achievement but getting 50 of them is unbelievable. He's been through a lot and he's resilient. It is tough playing international rugby but I think he's someone who thoroughly deserves winning those 50 caps. He may be at the other end of his career but the way he trains he doesn't miss a minute. He chases everything and he's a brilliant leader as well. He's also good with the younger boys while he drives the set-piece. He thoroughly deserves his opportunity and we can't wait to see him deliver on that.”
Argentina a different challenge
Argentina have made five changes from the side that lost to Scotland. Tandy acknowledged: “Yes, they are a terrific team and they've got big squad depth. You see some of the boys coming back in like Kremer who is a major player for them and brings a lot of passion. He's a 100 capper which is a remarkable achievement. There'll be a lot of passion and they are at home but it is just an exciting opportunity for us to embrace that. It'll be hostile. All the travel the boys have gone through and the recovery with just one session. It'll be an exciting Test match for us.”
Focus on ourselves
Tandy stressed the need to focus on Wales' own game: “For us we've got to really focus on ourselves with essentially only 40 minutes of training (this week). If we start worrying too much about everything else then we are not focusing on ourselves. That's something that's going to be massive for us on the weekend. We know it is going to be a huge challenge for us.”
Fly-half cover
If Sam Costelow leaves the field, Tandy confirmed Joe Hawkins would cover: “We've got Joe (Hawkins) who has played a lot there for the Scarlets and done a really good job. It is about having that different coverage on the bench. Max has trained really well while he gives us coverage at 12, 13 and wing. We've got different opportunities to look at and we feel we can cover that with Joe and Costy.”
Building consistency
Having won two Tests in a row, Tandy noted the mood but urged caution: “I think everyone is always happy when they win. The sun comes out a little bit brighter. It's the same for us and it hasn't changed. It is about us getting better and really focusing on ourselves. It aids confidence and with the experience of winning you learn different things and it becomes more habitual. But the reality for us is we have to be at our best. We have to keep focusing on those small moments in the game and we can't take our eye off the ball. We've got to keep growing and getting better at what we do because we've still got a long way to chase back but it is obviously much nicer doing it after a win.”
Progress since last meeting
Reflecting on the last meeting with Argentina, Tandy said: “I think it is always relevant but we've moved on. It was our first game and Argentina gave us a lot of lessons in that game. We scored some good tries but we could have scored even more. Defensively we've had a lot of growth as well so there's lots of learnings from that. It is also a great opportunity to see how far our development has come to play a world class team in their own backyard.”
Game plan against Argentina
On the style needed, Tandy stated: “There was a lot of transition. Hopefully we'll have some more opportunities to string some more phase attack together but we won't go away from how we play. We've got our game model as we saw during the Six Nations. The Fiji game definitely broke out but we got it back to certain parts of structure. But there will probably need to be more of an all-round game to really test Argentina on the weekend.”
