Former Wales centre Jamie Roberts believes George North can by Wales' main man at the World Cup after his successful conversion to an international centre.
North, who has played on the wing for most of his career, put in arguably his best Test performance as an outside centre against Argentina last weekend, combining the usual strong carrying with an assured, smart defensive performance.
Roberts, who was a constant in Wales' midfield for the best part of a decade under Warren Gatland, was particularly impressed with North's work without the ball shutting down Argentine threats.
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"I thought he was outstanding on the weekend," Roberts told WalesOnline. "We didn't see too much of him against the All Blacks, but on the weekend, I think his defensive side of his game impressed me most.
"There were times where Wales might be a bit vulnerable as Argentina kept trying to throw that miss-pass off two in their own half. You thought they might trouble our defence, but George stayed square and sorted it.
"We know he's powerful and is a tough, tough guy in attack. He's certainly Wales' best carrier and is very difficult to bring down.
"When it comes to that transition to 13, he's played most of his rugby - including for his club this season - on the wing, so to put in a defensive performance like that in the centre, as a fellow midfielder, is pretty impressive.
"I though he was awesome against Argentina. I've no doubt the coaches thought the same.
"It's not just his carrying game, but his defence - when to come up hard in his outside channels and when to defend on that slide defence - was really good. He's our 13 now.
"Looking to the World Cup, that's the position he's nailed down in that side. He's going to be a massive part of that backline."
Throughout his career, Roberts was adept at getting over the gainline with his strong carries and hard lines.
It's a facet of the game he places great stock in, and understandably so, given the contrast in Wales' performance against New Zealand and Argentina and how much of that revolved around threatening the fringes of rucks by taking the ball at pace and challenging the line.
Quite simply, you have to have someone capable to winning collisions and dictating contact. For Roberts, that man in this Welsh squad is North and he's comparable to another Lions centre in terms of his importance.
"Having played in quite a few backlines with players of different sizes, I think it's really important you have a focal point somewhere in your backline," he added. "England have really struggled when they haven't had Manu (Tuilagi).
"Whether that's 12 or 13, it doesn't matter what number is on their back, it's important you have a real focal point in your midfield. George is that guy.
"We've seen he can create space, not just by carrying but as a decoy runner as well. Rio Dyer's try against New Zealand, that subtle angle change made the difference.
"He's taken to it like a duck to water and they're not the sort of lines you'd normally be running as a winger. He's doing it really well in midfield.
"He's Wales' focal point in midfield. I look across that backline and there's a lot of other good focal points.
"Owen Watkin is a strong carrier. Nick Tompkins is a good all-rounder - he's a good carrier, good distributor and he's a really smart operator.
"Alex Cuthbert is a big, powerful man. Louis Rees-Zammit isn't slight either. He's maybe on a par with someone like Freddie Steward for size.
"There's no small lads in that backline, but George is the main focal point. Providing he stays fit, and I hope he does, he'll be a massive weapon for Wales in France."
Jamie Roberts will be covering this Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series match between Wales and Georgia at 1pm on Prime Video, with coverage starting from 12:30pm.
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