With Warren Gatland set to appoint a new defence coach over the coming days, one name has emerged as the front runner.
Former England defence guru Paul Gustard is understood to be the favourite, with former Scotland assistant Steve Tandy also in the frame.
Gustard's record as a defence coach speaks for itself having coached Saracens to Champions Cup glory and England to back-to-back Six Nations titles.
One player who knows Gustard inside out is former Wales hooker Scott Baldwin, who worked under the 46-year-old during a two-year stint at Harlequins. WalesOnline sat down with the Ospreys man to take an in-depth look at what Gustard, who is now at Stade Francais, could bring to the Welsh set-up:
Defensive style
"In many ways he was similar to Shaun Edwards. Everyone talks about line speed but Gussy calls it sprint speed. He'd want you to bring sprint speed off the line to try to put pressure on the opposition.
"In the middle of the field we [Harlequins] were a ball-watching team but off the edge we were a man-watching team. So there was a distinct difference in that it allows you off the touchline and as there's only one side to attack from it allows you to go man on.
"Every defensive system has its flaws but I think the biggest thing as a defence coach is that you know where your flaws are.
"He brought in something called a three-pass shutdown. He'd be adamant we don't let the opposition get more than three passes in. That gives you as a player confidence because you think 'right I've just got to get off the line here to put inside pressure on'.
"Gussy used to say everyone thinks rugby is a game of chess when actually it is a game of chequers. It's a simple game so let's just get really good at doing the simple things over and over again."
Attention to detail
"He was really detailed off kick counter when you are exiting, and in terms of how you manipulate where the attack wants to go. There was a lot of detail in that. It was very well-thought through and everything was deliberately done to get an outcome.
"He's so detailed you wouldn't need to ask a question as a player. Say we were playing Wasps, he'd be very detailed on where they were vulnerable whether it was the wide channel, whether they put any numbers in the ruck so there'd be an opportunity to counter ruck there.
"He was very detailed then about what we were doing off an edge in terms of going maybe man-watching or ball-watching off a midfield ruck, and he was really good at building confidence with his language around things. Paul's attention to detail and his level of understanding when I was at Harlequins was fantastic."
Man management
"Most of the boys he's coached have invited him to their weddings and so forth. You have to be a good bloke and have good relationships for things like that to happen.
"He also had a human factor to his coaching which was a big thing. Shaun Edwards used to say 'I can show you what to do on the laptop but it's about how you get people not to have to think too much during a game'. It's about reinforcing those messages throughout the week and having messages in place which will simplify the game."
Culture and commitment
"I probably haven't worked under a coach who is more dedicated or put more time in. He would be in at 6am every day. When we signed Andre Esterhuizen we trained on the Tuesday and then he flew out to South Africa, flew back Wednesday, and he was in training first thing Thursday morning at 6am.
"Everything he wanted was what was best for the players. It was a very good environment.
"His tenure during my time at Quins didn't reflect how good a defence coach he was. We'd done a lot of defensive stuff where if he was back at Saracens it would have worked better.
"If you look at Harlequins' DNA it's all about attack and their transition defence. But if you look at him purely as a defence coach his record speaks for itself. He improved Benetton and now he's helped take Stade Francais from the bottom to near the top."
Reputation
"He was probably a different person as a director of rugby to being a pure defence coach. He was part of the coaching group who created the wolfpack at Saracens who were probably one of the best defensive teams in world rugby while he was defence coach.
"He took that into England in the early days under Eddie Jones when they went on an 18-game winning streak.
"The good thing about Gustard was he'd always do some magnificent in-depth analysis on the team we were playing that weekend, and no stone was left unturned. He was really good good with his delivery. I think he'd be an enormous asset to the Wales coaching team if he gets the job."
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