Wales' new head coach – the first Welshman to have the job permanently since Gareth Jenkins in 2007 – was in the clubhouse as the breakfast baps were served. "I went up to the rugby club to watch the third Test in the morning with my brother and loads of my mates, it was awesome," said Tandy. "That's where your roots are and the brilliant part about Wales is the community part of it that leads to the game out at Principality Stadium. Tandy says he has huge pride in the village where he grew up. "That is what gave me the passion and energy to play the game," he explains. "I remember my first coach there and think back to the amount of motivation and energy he gave me to play the game, the fun that you have as a kid. "His sons were there [to watch the Lions Test] as well, so it was a real great moment, but it doesn't last long when you're from a village like Tonmawr. They ripped into me. "There are handshakes and they are all massively proud, but then it's back to making fun and being a proper rugby club. It was class." Tandy is quick to point to the high-profile coaches who have helped him rise to the top job in Wales – the Waratahs' Darryl Gibson, the Lions' Warren Gatland, Scotland's Gregor Townsend – but also frequently nods to those closer to home. "When you get to this kind of job, you realise all the support and help you have had," said Tandy, who coached the Ospreys from 2012 to 2018. "It's with massive pride that I feel I'm representing the village, who have been there through thick and thin."