Warren Gatland has always had a ruthless streak, after all this is the man who dropped the legendary Brian O'Driscoll for the British & Irish Lions' decisive third Test against Australia a decade ago.
That ruthlessness, which has served the New Zealander so well during his career, has been on show over the past month in Wales with the loosehead prop position a prime example.
Gatland left out the 48 times capped Wyn Jones, who was a Test Lion in South Africa two years ago, from his extended Rugby World Cup training camp.
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It didn't matter that Jones had previously hit the heights at Test level, in Gatland's eyes his form wasn't good enough, with the 59-year-old deciding to reward the form of uncapped duo Corey Domachowski, and Kemsley Mathias.
Most onlookers assumed experienced trio Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, and Rhys Carre were nailed on to make the final squad. However, Cardiff man Carre was unceremoniously chucked out of camp this week after he "failed to meet individual performance targets set at the end of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations."
Carre's shock exclusion has made it a real possibility Gatland will take one of Domachowski or Mathias to France this autumn.
Outside of those who follow the United Rugby Championship on a weekly basis, many in Wales won't know a great deal about the pair. But going on their form for Cardiff and the Scarlets, respectively, they are each there on merit.
For all the shock of 2021 Lion Jones' absence, Mathias regularly keeps the Llandovery man out of the Scarlets' starting XV.
The 23-year-old from Haverfordwest is highly rated at Parc y Scarlets, and many down west have been adamant he will win many caps for Wales over the coming years.
When Gatland named his extended training squad at the beginning of May he insisted his tight five needed to become a lot more mobile around the park.
While scrummaging remains the core job of a prop, in this day and age they need to offer significantly more, with mobility and explosive carries crucial.
This is something Mathias will bring, and at 6 foot 1 inch, and 121 kg the Scarlets star has the size for Test rugby.
While he can certainly hold his own Mathias is not as dominant a scrummager as his Scarlets teammate Jones but he does make a difference around the park.
He is known his for his explosive carries in the tight and the wide channels while he has scored his fair share of tries for the west Walians this season.
Mathias also makes a lot of tackles while he is very adept at the breakdown which is something Gatland has always put a lot of emphasis on.
Cardiff man Domachowski has been performing on the domestic front for a bit longer, and at 26 he can hardly be put in the youngster category, but many feel his selection at has been a long time coming.
Domachowski is the stronger scrummager, and has been the unsung man of the Cardiff pack for the last few years.
Of course, it is one thing performing at regional level but that doesn't always translate to making an impact on the international circuit. However, there are plenty of reasons to suggest Domachowski can make the step up.
For one thing his scrummaging can be very destructive, with perhaps the best example of this coming in Cardiff's recent impressive Challenge Cup last 16 victory over Sale Sharks.
Domachowski took highly-rated South African tighthead Nick Schonert to the cleaners, and there was more than one scrum where Cardiff sent the Gallagher Premiership runners-up backwards at a rate of knots.
He almost always holds his own at scrum time while he is another dynamic carrier around the park who also contributes heavily in defence.
When it comes to the final squad the smart money is on Ospreys pair Nicky Smith, and Gareth Thomas being near shoo-ins but Gatland would be leaving himself short if he didn't take a third loosehead to France.
It would be a shock if at least one of Domachowski or Mathias didn't get an opportunity in one of the World Cup warm-up games against South Africa, and England (twice).
Cast your minds back to 2011 and a young Taulupe Faletau made his Wales debut in a World Cup warm-up clash against England at Twickenham, and ended up being one of the stars of Wales' march to the semi-finals in New Zealand.
With a raft of experienced personnel retiring over the past few weeks it seems inconceivable there won't be any bolters in the final squad, and the smart money is on one of Domachowski or Mathias forcing their way in.
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