It's the story that has shaken the rugby world, and now we know a lot more about the Rob Howley scandal that has engulfed the Wales squad.
A clear timeline of events has emerged after it was revealed the attack coach had been relieved of his duties on Tuesday pending an investigation into a potential breach of World Rugby betting rules.
He has been sent home from Japan and former Wales fly-half Stephen Jones, who was due to take over from Howley after this World Cup, will replace Howley immediately.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland and CEO Martyn Phillips, along with senior players Jonathan Davies and Dan Biggar, held a press conference at the team hotel in the city of Kitakyushu overnight.
That, along with information WalesOnline has been told by other sources, has helped fill in some significant gaps.
Here’s what we now know about the situation. You can read the full transcript of the press conference here.
When did the WRU find out of the allegations against Howley?
The Welsh Rugby Union were contacted by the integrity team of a betting company last Wednesday in an informal capacity. At that stage, the betting company were looking for the WRU's help to verify Howley was the person concerned.
That became formal on Friday evening as the Union were presented with further information.
When that fresh information came to light, it prompted WRU CEO Martyn Phillips and Operations manager Julie Paterson to fly out to Japan, seeking to meet with Howley.
So the WRU have known about the potential breach for a week, have assessed the information and acted decisively.
“I wouldn’t call it embarrassing,” insisted Phillips.
“The key point for us was that as and when we were alerted it’s what you do. It’s very hard to do something about something you don’t know about.
“I am pleased in the way we and World Rugby have reacted – what we are seeing is rugby taking the allegation seriously. I don’t feel personally a form of embarrassment around that.”
When did Howley actually leave?
Phillips and Paterson arrived in Kitakyushu on Monday lunchtime and then immediately sought two meetings with Howley to put the claims in front of him at various points in the day.
In those meetings, Phillips said that Howley was co-operative and the decision was taken then to send him home.
At that point the investigation began and Howley returned to Wales, where he arrived yesterday evening.
When did the players find out?
The senior player group were made aware of the situation on Monday and they were consulted on the decision of who would replace Howley.
That leadership group of players includes captain Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Cory Hill, Justin Tipuric, Jonathan Davies, Dan Biggar and George North.
Once those decisions were made, the news passed on to the rest of the players on Tuesday night.
Did Howley say goodbye to the players?
Howley did not address the whole squad before leaving the team hotel.
He was already in the air on the way back to the UK when they were made fully aware of the circumstances.
It is understood that a few players had brief conversations with him before he left, though centre Davies remained adamant that those conversations would remain private.
Wales boss Gatland explained that he had text Howley following his arrival back in the UK.
What was the players’ reaction?
Experienced Wales campaigners Jonathan Davies and Dan Biggar fronted up in the wake of the controversy and spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s not the ideal situation but we’ve just rolled out sleeves up and got on with,” said Biggar.
“We still have to go out on Monday night and try and deliver a result.
“It was pretty disappointing. For people like myself, all we’ve ever had is Rob as a coach in this setup. He’s given us every cap we’ve had.
“But we’re also adults and realise that we have to just try and get on with it and that’s what’s been great about this squad. Whatever has come our way, we’re strong.”
Davies said: “I spoke to him (Howley) before he left. That conversation will stay private.”
On Stephen Jones, Davies added: “Familiarity is a big thing. Hopefully it will be a seamless transition. As senior players, we will have to work with him and get excited about the challenges.
“Steve is an extremely proud Welshman and I’m sure he’ll be excited about the opportunity to get involved and add to what we’re building here.”
Biggar and Rhys Patchell have had a meeting with skills coach Neil Jenkins and Gatland to establish how they would move forward.
Why was Stephen Jones picked and will he change things?
Jones was the incoming Wales attack coach and was due to take over from Rob Howley after the Rugby World Cup.
He was Warren Gatland’s first choice as soon as it became apparent that a new man was required to run the attack.
But he did not dictate to the players who was going to be selected. A shortlist was drawn up of potential replacements and it was agreed by the leadership group that Jones was to be the man.
Wales leave their base in Kitakyushu tomorrow afternoon and it has not been deemed necessary for Jones to fly all the way down here for one training session.
He will link up with the squad in Toyota City, where Wales face Georgia on Monday.
“I’ve spoken to him about the game plan we’ve got for Georgia and it will be different for other games,” said Gatland.
“He’s familiar with some of the things and has been watching the games as well. It’s important he’s got an opportunity to bring his own ideas and introduce them.
“We’re planning for the second game and we’ve spoken to the senior players about that and keeping one or two things up our sleeves.
“It’s no different to the message we deliver to the players - we’re not arrogant enough to not take ideas on board. If Stephen does that then great. It was a positive conversation.”
When does he arrive and who is now running the attack?
Jones is expected in Japan on Thursday.
Between now and then, Dan Biggar will play a key role in running the attack along with skills coach Jenkins.
Wales have been preparing their tactics and plans for this World Cup for some time now and all the players and staff are familiar with what they will attempt to implement.
The loss of Howley does not mean that goes out of the window but Jenkins will be required to oversee training until Jones arrives in camp.
Could Howley come back if the investigation clears him?
WRU chief Phillips wouldn’t entertain the possibility of Howley returning to the Wales setup during this World Cup.
With Howley due to leave after the Rugby World Cup anyway, his 23-year relationship with the Wales national side as both a player and a coach has ended.
“I don’t have a view on the timing,” said Phillips. “One of the reasons why we determined for Rob to go back to Wales was the right thing is that we’ve made a change and we stick to that change now.
“Any further instability isn’t going to help anybody. We need to accept that rather than predict where it goes. Stephen is here for the duration.”
What happens to Howley now?
The news is still so fresh the WRU have not had chance to draw up a timeline for their investigation and are yet to officially determine who will be involved.
Once the WRU begin their own investigation, it looks as though an independent panel could be called upon.
But for now, the distressing nature of the allegations and the timing meant that the WRU stressed their duty to support Howley and his wellbeing.
“I’d be far more interested in quality not speed,” said Phillips in reference to the investigation.
“These are serious allegations, there is a lot to cover, people to speak to, data to look at. I wouldn’t put any pressure on anyone to do things quickly, I will be putting pressure on them to do it right.”
He added: “Rob is back in Wales and we have put the necessary support around him. Several of the coaches are in touch with him and we’re checking in on his wellbeing as we formalise our processes to get through the investigation.
“With the allegation there is support we can provide and external support available as well. We have mobilised all of that. It is genuinely such early days. Rob would have got home 12 hours ago, some of the team will be in contact with him once he’s up and about today. We will be making that available, it’s whatever it takes.”
What are the betting rules Howley is alleged to have breached?
It's been confirmed the probe into Howley is over World Rugby regulation 6, 'specifically betting on rugby union.'
Regulation 6 is headed 'Anti-Corruption and Betting' and covers a whole host of sub-sections.
One of those is under Regulation 6 sub 3.1, which is titled 'Prohibited Betting'.
It emphasises no-one involved in the sport is permitted to bet on any rugby match, including players, coaches, backroom staff, agents and match officials.
Regulation 6 sub-section 10 outlines the range of sanctions available for offences.
Under Prohibited Betting it says the minimum action is a reprimand or warning.
The maximum punishment is a ban from rugby for life. More on the rules can be found here.
What have World Rugby said?
World Rugby issued a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time, confirming they are in contact with the WRU over the matter. The WRU had previously issued their own statement, which you can find here.
The World Rugby statement read: "World Rugby has been informed by the Welsh Rugby Union of a potential breach of World Rugby Regulation 6 (specifically betting on rugby) by a member of the union’s RWC 2019 coaching team.
“World Rugby fully supports the WRU’s proactive approach to this matter and can confirm that the union is keeping us informed of their initial discussions.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further on an open and evolving process.”
