Thick skin, a trusted gut and rugby in the blood.
It sounds like something straight out of the board game Operation, but really it's what has made World Cup-bound referee Ben Whitehouse who he is today.
The 32-year-old has been selected as one of seven TMOs for this autumn's showpiece in France, with the appointment seeing him follow in the footsteps of his father Nigel, who served as an assistant referee and TMO at the 2003 World Cup.
But while his surname has - for better or worse - made him one of the more recognisable faces in the latest generation of Welsh officials, Whitehouse is very much his own man and has made a name for himself in recent years with his "direct" style of refereeing.
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Keeping players in line and occasionally putting them in their place, his uncomprising on-field manner has seen him earn comparisons to Nigel Owens.
But while the legendary ref's career is certainly one he would like to emulate, for now Whitehouse is focused on his preparations for Paris with a packed summer schedule still ahead of him having spent the past week at a team building camp in the French mountains.
"It's a huge, huge honour for myself and my family," he said. "I'm really chuffed and so excited to get started. It's a really busy time for me at the moment, after France I'm flying out to South Africa to do some Hawkeye bunker trials in Cape Town with the Under 20s.
"I think I've got three or four days there, then I go to Argentina for the Test match there and then it's straight off to Auckland for New Zealand v South Africa. So there's a lot still to do but I just can't wait to get going out in France."
While, for the first time in history, there will be no referee from the Welsh Rugby Union at this year's World Cup, Whitehouse is one of two representatives from Wales who will be officiating in some capacity, with Craig Evans heading to France as an assistant referee.
Both men have tournament experience, with Evans officiating at the Tokyo Olympics and the Sevens World Cup, while Whitehouse was the TMO in the final of last year's Women's World Cup between England and New Zealand.
That role saw him make a defining intervention in the final 10 minutes of the game as he overturned the referee's decision to award a lineout to England, who were leading despite being a player down. Stepping in and showing that there had been no contact from a New Zealand player before the ball went out of play, Whitehouse ensured the Black Fearns were rightly awarded the lineout and they scored from the resulting set-piece.
While the correct decision had been made, it divided opinion among fans, with many complaining about the inconsistencies in how TMOs are used and when they get involved.
But that noise doesn't bother Whitehouse, who has grown into the TMO role in the last two years and shown he is not afraid to stand his ground even in the most high-pressure scenarios.
"It was an interesting one," he said, reflecting on that particular call. "It's not one that the TMO often comes in for as they don't happen that often. But it was one of those moments where I think rugby instinct took over and I just knew something wasn't quite right with the on-field call. It's important to trust your gut in those situations.
"I did initially find being a TMO really difficult when I first started doing it after Covid," he added. But then I quickly realised that actually it's a completely different skill altogether. You're not refereeing the game from the TMO box, you're actually just looking at your specific protocols within the game. Now I really enjoy the hybrid role that I'm doing at the moment, flicking between TMOing and refereeing".
In many ways, his inadvertent role in that final was typical of former policeman Whitehouse - not because he wants to make himself the star, but because he backs himself and wants to get things right. He's not afraid to stand up for himself even if it means tense exchanges with some of the game's biggest (in more ways than one) stars.
South Africa's 18 stone prop Ox Nche is just one of the high profile players to feel the sting of the Welshman's sassy put downs, with the Springbok accused of trying to "buy a penalty" by pretending to be injured during a URC game last year.
While it may not make him the most popular official in the game, however, Whitehouse insists his style works for him and he retains a good relationship with the players he takes charge of on a weekly basis.
"I probably am quite a direct referee, yeah," he said. "There are certainly referees out there with a lot softer hands than me. But I think that's just me as an individual and it's tough to change that.
"I think I've got a good relationship with with players, they know where they stand anyway. You don't need to get on as friends on the field, but I think there's no grey area with where a player stands.
"Being a referee is not for everyone," he added. "But you're not necessarily there to be liked. It's always nice if people do of course, and I hope people meet me and have a chat with me and see that I am a little different to what I am on the field! I'm just doing the job after all."
However, no referee or player - or anyone - is universally liked and a number of officials have revealed the horrifying abuse they regularly receive on social media, with Wayne Barnes admitting he was close to hanging up the whistle after threats were made towards his family after one divisive performance.
After stepping back from that arena, Whitehouse has ducked a lot of that abuse but is wary of the impact social media may have on future generations of officials.
"In the early days I got quite a lot of stick," he recalled. "I was probably an easy target with a name like Whitehouse in the refereeing world! But I've stepped back from social media and stuff and so I don't witness it as much as some of the boys who are on social media.
"All I can say is 99 per cent of people I've met in the street, in bars and in rugby clubs have wanted to sit down, have a drink together and have a chat. They may want to discuss wrong decisions sometimes but it's done in the right way."
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"But there are certainly people out there you know, very good friends of mine, actually who have had terrible abuse. Andy Brace is one of them, particularly after England v France," he added. "It isn't just people saying 'you had a bad game' or 'you're f***ing rubbish', it's absolutely horrendous stuff.
"Refereeing is such a rewarding profession for those that take it on full-time and even for those who don't, it's a rewarding hobby and a great way to give back to rugby if you're not playing. You're still keeping your boots on and getting out there. So I really hope some isolated incidents don't put people off taking up the whistle, that would be really sad."
New hurdles like social media mean life as a referee is markedly different to when Whitehouse Senior was officiating, but that doesn't mean that he won't be leant on for some sage advice as the World Cup kick-off grows ever closer.
That is, if his son can find the time to do so.
"It's all been a bit of a whirlwind recently," he said. "I probably haven't spoken to my Dad about it as much as I should have! I was already in Dublin for the semi-finals of the URC when I got the call and I came home, flew straight over to South Africa for the final before coming back again and then going on a family holiday.
"So we haven't really had time to digest it all over a beer or anything yet. But I'm sure over the next few weeks we'll have a chat about things and I'll bend his ear on a few World Cup matters!"
You can hear the excitement in Whitehouse's voice whenever he mentions the upcoming autumn, but don't be fooled - he wants even more than that.
Still only 32 and well regarded not just in Welsh rugby but also further afield, this is unlikely to be his last appearance at a World Cup and he admits he would love to head there one day as a referee.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't to be honest with you," he said. "No referee starts out as young as I did and says I want to go to the World Cup as a TMO. I'm absolutely honoured to go to the World Cup and be part of the refereeing team but the wider goal is to to go as a referee.
"Will it happen? I don't know. But I'm going to work my guts out to try and make it happen and hopefully in 10, 20 years time I'll look back and say well, I gave it my best shot.
"And if my best wasn't good enough, then I can still hold my head up and say I tried."
