Steve Tandy has been appointed as Ospreys new head coach, the Welsh club announced on Wednesday.
Welsh region appoint new coach after Holley steps down
Steve Tandy has been appointed as Ospreys new head coach, the Welsh club announced on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old replaces Sean Holley, who stepped down by mutual consent, and will take charge for Friday's RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Aironi at the Liberty Stadium.
Tandy has been with Ospreys since they were founded in 2003 and made 102 appearances for the region before moving into coaching.
The former flanker led Bridgend back into the Welsh Premiership before becoming acting head coach for the Ospreys during this season's LV= Cup campaign.
"This is an excellent opportunity for me and I'm really excited about the challenges ahead," he said.
"Clearly there's an air of expectation on whoever is in charge at the Ospreys, but having been here since the very beginning I know what to expect."
Despite his young age and lack of experience, Ospreys chief operations officer Andrew Hore is confident that Tandy is more than capable of filling such a high-profile post
Challenge
"Steve is still young but sometimes, as is the case with players," he said."If they've got the ability then you have to give them the opportunity.
"He's a forward thinker who has his own ideas about how to do things."
Tandy will be assisted by current forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys, with the full make-up of his coaching team to be confirmed.
His promotion comes after it was decided during discussions between Holley and the board that change was necessary.
Ospreys, who are currently second in this season's domestic table, have enjoyed success in The Celtic League with three titles to their name, the last coming in 2010.
But it is the region's lack of success in the Heineken Cup, where they have failed to qualify for the knockout stages since losing to Biarritz in 2010's quarter-finals, for which Holley has paid the price.
"Professional sport is a fast-moving and ever-changing environment and after nine years in office we feel that the time is now right to freshen things up and look at alternative options," Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy said.
"Sean is in agreement with us that he too is now in a position where he needs a new challenge."
