The next generation of Welsh coaches are slowly emerging, and there is one tucked away in the Channel Islands who is beginning to make a big name for himself.
Tom Williams comes from good rugby stock, with his father, Brynmor, representing Wales and the British & Irish Lions, while his brother Lloyd, has won 33 caps for his country.
After a solid playing career, which included stints at Cardiff and the Scarlets, Williams began his coaching career at Jersey, and has been instrumental in turning around their fortunes.
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As attack coach, the 32-year-old has helped mastermind Jersey's rise alongside head coach Rob Webber, with the Reds crowned winners of the second-tier Championship last week.
"I was playing for Jersey and fell into coaching while I was there as a player," he told WalesOnline.
"I got offered to stay and coach.
"Last year was a learning year for me in terms of figuring out the league, and figuring out a way I wanted the team to play.
"For me it was a case of learning during my first year as a coach, and then during the second year putting it into practice.
"I've worked hard to find a way to get the best out of this team, and this squad from an attacking perspective.
"It seems to be quite effective this year. Winning the Championship is a massive achievement for a club like Jersey.
"Only one game we've lost in the league this year which is unbelievable when you think about it."
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There was a time when Welsh rugby could boast some of the best coaches in the world but since the game turned professional in 1995 it has been guilty of favouring coaches from the Southern Hemisphere as opposed to developing its own.
It's true, professional sport is about winning, and any coaching appointment should be based on the best person for the job regardless of nationality.
But over the past 15 years, Welsh rugby has arguably not invested as much resource as it should into its coaching pathway.
Sure, there are some very good Welsh coaches with Rob Howley, Stephen Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Jonathan Humphreys, Dwayne Peel, and Mark Jones well-respected within the game, but more work needs to be done to improve the standard of home-grown coaching.
When asked about the Welsh Rugby Union's plans to improve the coaching pathway last year, current acting CEO Nigel Walker, who was then Performance Director, said: “At the appropriate time I’d be disappointed if there wasn’t a Welsh coach or two in the frame (to be the next Wales coach).
"If you look at my generation, and I know they are old now, but If you look at people like Gareth Llewellyn, Phil Davies, and Dai Young, who is still coaching now, Rob Howley, who is a bit older than me but around the same time.
“In three, four, five, six years' time their equivalents should be in the frame for the top job.”
Williams is surely part of the next generation of Welsh coaches Walker was alluding to last year, and is hugely motivated to propel himself to greater heights in the future.
Coaching has changed astronomically over the past decade, with the no nonsense, hard taskmasters fading out to be replaced by coaches who are more personable, with a greater emphasis on man management.
Williams, who has been taking advice from former England attack coach Nick Evans, has adopted the modern coaching traits.
"Currently I model my coaching around the philosophies of Ronan O'Gara and Andrew Goodman, the Leinster attack coach," he said.
"They are the people who I look at, and want to emulate.
"I have spent time with Nick Evans so it's really about being a sponge and taking in as much information as possible to implement that.
"You are finding a lot of younger coaches now because the game is moving on really quickly.
"For me personally I'm trying to keep myself ahead of the curve at all times.
"When I look at O'Gara and Goodman it's about how they make the team cohesive to work together.
"I think it's about how they are very detailed as a side, and how fast they want their teams to play.
"That's what really excites me when I watch their teams play. That's how I want Jersey to play.
"I encourage us to play heads up rugby but within our robust game model, and I want us to be an unpredictable team."
Williams insists he spends a lot of time working with players individually while also puts emphasis on the psychological side of the game.
"I think I've always considered myself to have a smart rugby brain but that is actually such a small part of coaching," he said.
"Over the last year or two I've really had to learn how to teach people things, that's with regards reading books, asking teachers that I used to get taught by.
"It's the leadership skills and the soft skills which are really important because 70% of coaching is off-field.
"I'd like to say I'm a more modern type of coach.
"I really pride myself on those relationships because individual coaching is really important.
"Different people like to be treated in different ways.
"I'm not a shouter because I think there's a lot of value in being positive but there's also a place to give constructive feedback to make sure players get better.
"Every single day you've got to work with those players to make them better.
"I think that's the biggest change in coaching that you have to constantly look at every single player, whether they are playing or not, and improving them."
Williams may have lived away from Wales for the past couple of years but the game in his homeland is in a perilous state.
With playing budgets getting driven down and salaries getting slashed many players across Wales' four professional sides could soon find themselves on the rugby scrapheap with there being fewer opportunities than there once was in the Gallagher Premiership or the Top 14.
Williams predicts many Welsh players will find themselves plying their trade in the English Championship and insists it could be a better development tool than the semi-professional Welsh Premiership.
"I do think the Welsh regions should send more players on loan to the Championship because it's a higher standard than the Welsh Premiership," he said.
"Next year there'll be a Premiership Cup which includes Championship clubs.
"That's massive for the players in the Championship because that's their chance to show they can play at a higher level.
"I think you'll see more Welsh players playing in the Championship over the next couple of seasons. There'll be a lot of Welsh players in pre-season with Championship sides.
"I think it's a great league to come to, and I certainly had a bit of a shock when I came here. I didn't expect it to be as competitive, and as physical as it was.
"I'd urge players who are potentially coming to the end of their contracts to look at the Championship.
"Look at Tomi Lewis he's come to us for a year, worked on his defence, and he's got himself a contract with the Scarlets."
And what of Williams' long-term future, does he see himself coaching a Welsh region in the future?
"If you asked me this question last year it wouldn't have been in my thought process because I wasn't ready," he said.
"It definitely is something I'd like to do in the future.
"I really enjoy coaching in England, and learning from the coaches here at Jersey and within the Premiership.
"I think I'd be able to make a difference at a Welsh region in the future, although I appreciate I am still learning, but as it stands, I'm really enjoying working in England."
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