The 41-cap back-rower was at the heart of the Ospreys 22-11 derby victory at the Liberty Stadium in his first match against his former side. Tandy’s men sit top of the PRO12 after the result and now have a revenge mission against Northampton Saints in their sights when the European Rugby Champions Cup returns this weekend.
And Tandy was full of praise for Lydiate, who was making his fourth appearance since he returned to Wales from French side Racing Metro.
Tandy said: “He is growing. I thought he was really good. There were moments around him, particularly his defence. His ball-carrying is coming and he’s a great character. Dan has been driving standards and I think he’s getting better. We are delighted with him and it’s great to have him here.”
It’s tight at the top of the PRO12 table with just three points separating the top four as we move into the second-half of the season. And Tandy sees the post Christmas period as a crucial time in the race for the end-of-season play-offs.
He said: “It’s a win. We played some neat and tidy stuff at times but the game got sticky. We have had a pretty tough time over Christmas and three wins out of four is pretty decent.
“Teams are knocking each other over. We’ve got Edinburgh and Glasgow, both away, then we are at home to Leinster and Munster.
“It will be a crucial period of the season for us and I think the play-off race will go down to the wire. We have just got to keep fighting and get our own house in order.
“We have to work hard on the training ground and get it right. We have a fair bit of work to do and we’re not going to shy away from it.”
