The Welsh Rugby Union have confirmed the appointment of Leicester Tigers assistant Alex Davies as their new kicking coach.
Wales have used an interim for the past four campaigns, with Leigh Halfpenny working on the last two summer tours and Rhys Patchell taking the autumn internationals and Six Nations in between. Wales' long-standing kicking guru, Neil Jenkins, remains employed by the WRU, but has not worked with the national team since the 2025 Six Nations.
Davies' background and role
Davies leaves his role as skills and kicking coach at Leicester, having previously worked with England Women, Rosslyn Park and the Netherlands. As a player, he played for London Welsh, Bath and Rosslyn Park - turning out at both scrum-half and fly-half.
He will start his new role at the beginning of September, working closely with attack coach Matt Sherratt. The governing body say he will "lead development of the kicking skills philosophy for the senior men's team and contribute to the development of the Welsh Rugby DNA across the wider pathway." In his role, Davies will also coach players outside of international campaign windows to continue their development and progression.
Davies' reaction and Tandy's staff
“I'm incredibly proud to be joining Wales as kicking coach, working under Steve Tandy and alongside an outstanding coaching team,” said Davies. “It's a huge honour to represent Welsh rugby and an opportunity I'm extremely grateful for. There's an exciting journey ahead for Welsh rugby and I can't wait to get started and be a part of it.”
Tandy's backroom staff is now slowly building. Having had Sherratt and forwards coach Danny Wilson as the only permanent members of his ticket at the start of his reign, the head coach has now added four new assistants to his team this year.
Defence coach Pete Murchie joined from Japanese outfit Kobe Steelers, before Dan Lydiate joined the coaching team on a permanent basis after being on secondment for much of the season. Paul James was then announced as scrum coach earlier this summer, with Davies the latest addition. The WRU are still on the lookout for an attacking skills coach.
Tandy's statement
“It's great to have Alex join the coaching team,” said Tandy. “He's a very talented coach who will be another asset for us as a group. I can't wait for him to join us and to help continue shaping our identity as we head into the next phase of the Nations Championship with our three home games this November.”
