Wales head coach Steve Tandy has insisted that there has been no interruption to his squad’s training despite the uncertainty caused by a pay dispute.

Preparations for Wales’ opening match of the inaugural Nations Championship were minorly disrupted by a disagreement between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association (WRPA) regarding match fees for internationals.

The issue over “employment terms” was resolved on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the fixture with Fiji at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

Wales were due to have a press conference on Wednesday but the playing squad opted not to fulfil that appointment because of the dispute. Tandy, who was not involved in discussions, stated no training sessions had been missed.

“In fairness, the players have been brilliant,” said Tandy.

“I’m grateful it is resolved and there’s no hangover from it. The preparation hasn’t been interrupted in terms of our training and how we’ve gone about it. We can get focused on the Fiji game.”

There was talk of a strike but that was played down by Tandy and others with knowledge of the negotiations.

“I just talk to the boys, it’s just about support,” the Wales boss added. “Lots of the negotiations, I’m not aware of.

“And the only thing that’s come out for me is that it’s been resolved, there’s been training as normal, the timings of the week have been great.

“The way the boys have been on the field and in the meetings has been impeccable.”

With the uncertainty around the regional game, attention on disputes of this kind are at an all-time high.

“People have gone through experiences, and nothing’s perfect,” said Tandy.

“It’s how you deal with those things. There’s a group there that are connected, tight to each other, and I believe as a coaching staff as well we’re connected with them.

“They’re resilient and there’s lots of stuff that goes on. We will get there at some point where there’ll be a campaign where we just talk totally about rugby.”

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