Shaun Edwards has told Warren Gatland his first task as Wales coach should be to bring back Rob Howley.
Gatland this week completed a sensational return to Welsh rugby, taking over the reins from Wayne Pivac who was relieved of his duties after a poor calendar year was punctuated by embarrassing defeats to Italy and Georgia in Cardiff.
It was the result against the latter that did for Pivac, with the Welsh Rugby Union holding a review into the autumn campaign that ultimately led to his sacking.
Gatland was always the preferred choice to take over from his compatriot and return to a post he held from 2007 to 2019.
His in-tray is stacked, with a World Cup less than 12 months away and a Six Nations campaign just around the corner. You can read more about that here.
But Edwards, who worked alongside Gatland with Wales and the British Lions as his defence coach, says job number one, from his point of view, should be picking up the phone to Howley.
The 52-year-old is currently Canada’s assistant coach and has been out of top-class rugby for three years. But during his tenure as Wales attack coach with Gatland, he helped engineer three Six Nations Grand Slams and a World Cup semi-final appearance.
Edwards believes the adversity Howley has endured over the past few years, including a betting scandal, should now be water under the bridge.
"It is brilliant for international rugby that Warren is back with Wales," Edwards said in his MailOnline column. "We spent 12 years together there and it is a great move to bring him back. Rugby needs big names to engage the fans and sell tickets and there are not many bigger names out there.
"Warren loves the Six Nations so it is the perfect timing for him. It comes around very quickly after the autumn. The whole country comes alive for that competition with passion, enthusiasm and expectation. Wales find an extra five or 10 per cent and that is why Warren has been one of the most successful Six Nations coaches of all time. It is the perfect time to start the project.
"The first thing I would do in his shoes is bring back Rob Howley. Rob has served his time for betting and it was the most difficult period in his life. He is a superb Welsh coach who understands their game. Wales have already got an excellent attack coach in Stephen Jones so maybe there is a way of creating an extra role alongside him because Rob is a good all-rounder. I’m pretty sure Warren will be on the phone to him."
Edwards himself admitted he would "love" to coach Wales at some point in the future, telling WalesOnline the Six Nations is the competition he enjoys the most.
"In the future? Yeah, of course," Edwards said, who currently holds a role with the French national team. "I love the Six Nations competition.
"It's a competition I judge myself on because it's the only time you're competing against teams who have exactly the same preparation. It's just after Christmas when everyone is a bit miserable. It's a historic competition where all the great coaches and players have been in."
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