Warren Gatland admits he has been blown away by the skills of uncapped tight-head Keiron Assiratti in training, joking that the Cardiff prop would make a brilliant fly-half.
Assiratti has enjoyed a strong season at the Arms Park, forming a strong front-row unit with hooker Liam Belcher and fellow Wales squad member Corey Domachowski, and he is well-placed to challenge for a World Cup squad ticket to France.
The five tight-head options consist of two experienced players and three uncapped players. The former, Tomas Francis and Dillon Lewis, would be expected to make it to France, but you never know with Gatland in a World Cup year. Samson Lee missed out four years ago, after all.
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Assiratti often had the starting jersey ahead of Lewis at the Arms Park this season, which could well be a factor when the final squad selection is made in August.
As for the other uncapped options, Cardiff team-mate Will Davies-King hasn't accrued many minutes at senior level so it would take something monumental for him to force his way in. Montpellier's Henry Thomas seems to be someone Gatland is ready to put his faith in.
Maybe Assiratti will make it to France, maybe he won't. But what's clear is he has been impressing the Wales coaches with not just with the work you'd expect from a prop, but also with some more eye-catching stuff.
"There's some real youngsters that we're excited about," Gatland told the Scrum V podcast. "The two Cardiff boys in Domachowski and Assiratti.
"The other day, I made a joke. Keiron, with his brilliant handling and side-stepping, I said he could be a brilliant 10 if he lost 40kg.
"He's got some skill. Those boys will put some real pressure on the others. They're only going to get better over the next few years."
Assiratti's skills have been on display for some time. One outrageous dummy left Ireland's Colm Hogan clutching at thin air during a U20s clash in 2017.
Crucially, Assiratti has shown he has the scrummaging ability required this season. One particular game against Sale in Europe last year saw both him and Domachowski give the Premiership finalists - who pride themselves on a strong pack - a tough time, continually sending their scrum back on skates.
Those basics are vitally important, but at a time when Gatland is looking for mobility in his front-five, the skills of Assiratti clearly haven't gone unnoticed.
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