Warren Gatland is ready to kick-start his second stint as Wales head coach with a bang.
During his first tenure as Wales boss, Gatland stuck with the same lieutenants throughout the entirety of his 12 years in charge.
If people thought it was going to be a case of same old Gatland this time around, they were wrong with the New Zealander selecting an almost all-new coaching team to the one he had when he left Wales in 2019. WalesOnline takes an in-depth look at what each one of Gatland's assistants will bring to their role:
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Attack
Last time: Rob Howley. New choice: Alex King
Gatland was very keen to reappoint Rob Howley as his attack coach. Their long working relationship came to an end when Howley was sent home on the eve of the 2019 World Cup and banned for 18 months after breaking World Rugby's betting protocol.
WalesOnline understands Gatland offered Howley his old job but it was blocked by the Welsh Rugby Union's non-executive directors. In Howley's absence Gatland has turned to former England outside-half Alex King, who he coached when he was in charge of Wasps.
Even though Wales enjoyed unprecedented success under Gatland, their attack was always criticised. There was a school of thought that Wales' lack of creativity behind the scrum prevented them from regularly beating the big three from the southern hemisphere.
This is a tad unfair because Howley played an integral role in three Six Nations Grand Slam winning campaigns and also won the championship as interim head coach in 2013.
Wales kept it simple under former scrum-half Howley, playing to their strengths, using their big ball-carriers like Jamie Roberts to get over the gain-line, which sucked in defenders to the breakdown, creating space and mismatches out wide.
King is no stranger to the Wales set-up having taken charge of the attack under Howley when Gatland took a sabbatical to prepare for the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
Wales didn't enjoy great success the last time he was here, finishing fifth in the Six Nations with just two victories against Italy and Ireland, and scoring eight tries under King's watch. But the 47-year-old is a very well-respected coach, enjoying successful stints at Clermont Auvergne, Northampton Saints, Montpellier and Gloucester.
He is thought to be a pragmatic coach who likes his players to play what is in front of them, but he also likes to keep things simple. Gatland needs coaches he can trust to execute his overall gameplan, and you'd expect Wales to attack in a similar manner to how they did under Howley.
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Defence
Last time: Shaun Edwards. New choice: Mike Forshaw
The biggest mistake both Wayne Pivac and the WRU made after Gatland left in 2019 was not pulling out all the stops to retain Edwards. A large chunk of Gatland's achievements as a coach have in large part been down to Edwards, who was his assistant at Wasps and then Wales.
Wales turned defence into an artform under Edwards' watch, only conceding a record two tries during their 2008 Six Nations Grand Slam-winning campaign. This trend continued throughout the entirety of Gatland's first era in charge, with Wales' success mostly down to their defence.
Edwards' defensive gameplan evolved over the course of the 12 years but in the main it centred around the blitz defence with the whole defensive line moving forward as one as soon as the ball leaves the base of a ruck or maul, with the idea being to attack the opposition on their outside shoulder. The aim was to prevent the attacking team gaining any ground by tackling them behind the gain-line and forcing interceptions and charged-down kicks.
It's safe to say Mike Forshaw has some big boots to fill but he has all the attributes to successfully follow in Edwards' footsteps. Like Edwards, Forshaw comes from Wigan and was a world-class rugby league player. He has a very similar coaching outlook to Edwards with an emphasis on hard work, line speed and winning the collisions.
He was a huge success at Sale Sharks, who have conceded the fewest amount of tries in the Gallagher Premiership this season, with his motto of "if you are walking, you're already too late" giving an insight into the high standards he demands. He is an inspirational character and even though he's got big boots to fill you wouldn't bet against the northerner making a success of it.
Forwards
Last time: Robin McBryde. New choice: Jonathan Humphreys
Former Wales hooker Robin McBryde was the unsung hero of Wales' success between 2008 and 2019. He was the man who went about his business without any fuss or fanfare and was only mentioned by supporters when the scrum or the lineout creaked.
But such occasions were few and far between with Wales' pack the strongest it had ever been under the north Walian's watch. True, he had some of the best Welsh forwards of all time to work with, but under McBryde they were a tight and cohesive unit able to outmuscle any side in the world.
Jonathan Humphreys got granted a stay of execution by Gatland having been part of the Wayne Pivac era where Wales lost at home to both Italy and Georgia in the same calendar year. Wales' forwards have been extremely inconsistent of late, although in his defence he didn't have the riches to work with which McBryde had, but under Gatland's watch he should get better.
Humphreys does have his admirers among players past and present, with Wales legend Adam Jones saying he is the best forwards coach he worked with during his playing career.
One of the biggest issues over the past couple of years has been the breakdown, with Wales struggling to secure quick ball which had a negative knock-on effect on their attack. The onus will be on Humphreys to ensure this is fixed, while Gatland will need him to get the forwards a lot tighter while also shoring up the set-piece.
Kicking
Neil Jenkins
This was always going to be a foregone conclusion. The former Wales playmaker was part of Gatland's backroom team for 12 years, also going on three Lions tours. Jenkins is considered a tremendous man manager who knows the players and the environment inside out.
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