The contact area and the breakdown are undeniably important in the modern game.
"We have a couple of hundred breakdowns in a game," said Wayne Pivac before this year's Six Nations. "If you compare that to scrums and lineouts, it's such an important part of the game - not only with the ball, but without it.
"Trying to turn the ball over, take possession over, slow them down and realign in defence so we can come on the offence with our defence if you like. It's a vastly important part of the game."
Read more: What became of the young Wales team who did something very special three years ago
Perhaps that explains why, since Pivac took over from Warren Gatland a few years ago, Wales have largely always had a specialist coach in camp looking after the breakdown and contact area. First, it was Sam Warburton and then, until this week, it was Gareth Williams.
However, with the news that Williams will take up the role of defence coach with the Scarlets, it begs the questions of who Pivac will turn to next. There's always the possibility that an external appointment is even made.
If you look elsewhere in Test rugby, specialist contact area coaches are a rarity. Wales having one became something of a novelty.
Given the natural crossovers between the contact area and all other parts of the game, it's much more common for another coach to inherit the responsibilities as well as their own. In Gregor Townsend's Scotland's coaching ticket, John Dalziel combines the contact area role with his work with the forwards.
That might well make sense for Pivac at the moment. Gethin Jenkins initially came into the coaching ticket as a replacement for former team-mate Warburton - taking on the role as technical coach for the breakdown and defence.
However, once Byron Hayward departed his role as defence coach, Jenkins' focus shifted solely onto the defence while Williams was brought in. Despite that, Jenkins has naturally retained an interest in the contact area.
“I don’t see making 200 tackles as a positive, it’s more a negative,” he said last year. “If we’re making 200 tackles, it means stuff isn’t going right in other areas.
“I take a keen interest in the exits, contact area, all that stuff that leads us to making 200 tackles. Part of that might be we’re not as good at the breakdown as we should be, technically or with our ability in that area. If we have to make that many tackles we’re probably not as accurate somewhere else.
“It’s good that we’ve got work rate, intent and all that, but ideally it would be a lot less than that. That’s what we’re driving.”
Clearly, there's an holistic approach to Jenkins' view on the defence - with the contact area feeding into that. Having Jenkins incorporate the breakdown into his work could be useful.
One former Wales player who has been involved in a camp where there was a specialist contact area coach explained to WalesOnline how the breakdown, while being intrinsically linked to all of the coaches' remits, ultimately tended to fall between each of their roles. "No one was held accountable for breakdown and, as such, it can fall through the cracks," they added.
So far, Pivac has looked to remedy that with having an extra coach in camp, looking after the breakdown and contact area. However, does an extra voice risk convoluting the message?
You can sense that Pivac has already sought to make compromises on his ideals since taking over as Wales coach. Some areas of the game have simplified from the initial plans first brought in, with Wales leaning on a more territory-based game in South Africa having previously looked to play a lot around halfway.
Given the relatively limited time international coaches get with players, it's little surprise few national sides look for coaches to solely work on the contact area. It's an extra voice that, given the nature of Test rugby, might not always have enough time to be heard properly.
Wales have had success at times with the breakdown, while on other occasions it's been lacking. Simplifying matters in terms of coaching numbers and the general message could be a tempting prospect a year out from the World Cup.
Or, Wales could obviously look to replace Williams. With the World Cup in France next year, Pivac will want to leave no stone unturned and, if he's deemed a contact area coach a necessity until now, then there's every chance he'll look for one.
The question is who do you get? Well, that's anyone's guess at this stage.
It would be easy to spitball a dozen or so names who could do the job and do it well. One important point to note is whether certain coaches would necessarily want the job given how it arguably sits in the pecking order of the Welsh coaching ticket.
Warburton was a first-time coach, while Williams was an internal appointment. Someone like former Wales prop Adam Jones has done work with the contact area at Harlequins, but given his prowess as a coach beyond just the contact area, with his expertise at the scrum, would bringing him back to Wales with a solitary focus on the contact area be either an enticing enough prospect for him to leave the Gallagher Premiership or the best use of his talents?
That entire argument possibly rules out many big name candidates, so would Wales look internally again? Obviously, Williams stepped up from the role as head coach of the U20s.
Given the current head coach, Byron Hayward, has already been a part of Pivac's coaching ticket, that can pretty much be ruled out. But the former Ospreys and Dragons fly-half Shaun Connor could be an option.
He's been working as breakdown coach with the U20s and it's hardly a stretch to see him either stepping up to help the senior squad or even combining that with his current duties.
Around the professional sides, only the Scarlets have a coach working specifically on the contact area. However, Emyr Phillips has just been made handed that role on a permanent basis so he seems off-limits.
Wales will undoubtedly fill the gap somehow and someone will be coaching the contact area simply because of how important it is. However, there's every chance that, on the basis of how Test rugby generally approaches the role, one of Wales' current coaches will simply inherit the responsibility rather than a new face arriving in camp.
Read more:
Today's rugby news as Australia captain pulls out of Rugby Championship opener for personal reasons
'Fantastic' Welsh fly-half newcomer already likened to an All Black is exciting many people
Today's rugby news as eligibility row erupts and new role for Welsh rugby boss
