Rewind two and a bit years, and Wayne Pivac is announcing his first Wales squad.
It's just 16 days after the World Cup campaign has finished - November 19, 2019 to be precise - and an uncapped Test against the Barbarians represents Pivac's chance to put his own mark on the team post-the Warren Gatland era.
With an eye on the Six Nations a few months on, Pivac chose a 35-man squad - blending new faces with senior players who had not been overly-used at the World Cup.
READ MORE: McGeechan predicts Wales' Six Nations fate
He had one week to work with them for the time being.
Five uncapped players were included - Taine Basham, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Willis Halaholo, Ashton Hewitt and Johnny McNicholl as the planning for the future began.
Then it emerged that four more youngsters had been invited to train with the squad without being official call-ups.
They were seen by Pivac as players earmarked as highly-talented with potentially big futures at Test level and this was to be a learning experience for them.
One of the quartet was ex-Wales under-20s skipper Dewi Lake, who has just been named in Pivac's 2022 Six Nations squad.
The others were scrum-half Kieran Hardy, centre Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler and full-back Ioan Davies.
Pivac is not shy in showing his excitement when it comes to Ospreys hooker Lake, who is a dynamo in the loose but questions linger over his lineout work.
And he namechecked what happened at his first squad announcement when naming his Six Nations party this week.
“Dewi Lake, you’ll recall, was one of four youngsters that we had join our group for learning purposes in 2019," remembered Pivac.
"He’s been earmarked from a young age as part of the pathway system. He’s captained Wales under-20s.
“I just think he brings a physical presence, he’s 112 kilos, he’s the biggest hooker running around in Wales. He’s going to be a very destructive player as time goes by.
“He’s very good over the ball, he’s a strong ball-carrier and we need big ball-carriers because we’ve lost a lot of experience and some of our better ball-carriers through injury.
“What he brings will make up for the absences that we have.
“People talk about his throwing but when he was in camp with us in the 2020 Six Nations and 2019, he improved out of sight.
“We’d expect that, with a concentrated effort over and above what he’s doing with his club, he will improve. We think it’s a good time to get him in there.”
Lake remains uncapped, although he received an official call-up to the squad for the 2020 Six Nations when Elliot Dee ran into injury trouble. Knocks have halted Lake's development somewhat and appearances at regional level have been hampered by a long-term ankle injury.
But he's back now and caught the eye in a big way during the Ospreys' loss to Racing 92 last weekend.
“A hooker is judged primarily around his set piece, as always, and that’s always a journey, especially for a convert,” said Ospreys boss Toby Booth.
“But the big thing for him is the collision, he wants to win every moment he’s in, he’s a competitor.
“He carries the ball, he’s got on the front foot and he creates defensive pressure in the breakdown.
“Those two are very attractive attributes to have as a tight five forward."
Everyone who works with Lake, who was 20 when initially invited into the Wales camp, backs his talent.
It is not bold to suggest that he is taking the first steps of what should be a long, prosperous Test career, should he receive some luck where injuries are concerned.
So what of the three other players who were brought in for a week of learning by Pivac over two years ago? How has their development gone?
Scrum-half Kieran Hardy, who was 23 back then, has gone on to achieve the most out of the quartet.
At the time, all three World Cup scrum-halves were named in the side to face the Barbarians, leaving Hardy on the fringes.
He missed out on selection in the 2020 Six Nations but began really challenging Gareth Davies for the No.9 jersey at the Scarlets and Pivac took note.
Hardy was drafted in for the 2020 autumn matches and made his debut against Georgia but things didn't come as easy to him as they did at regional level.
It was during the 2021 Six Nations that he really came to the fore with an impressive showing off the bench against Scotland and then a brilliant performance from the start against England.
However a hamstring injury in that game against Eddie Jones' side, halted his momentum.
Having featured in the summer and the autumn, Hardy - now a Six Nations winner - is still part of Pivac's plans. He has been named in the squad once again for the upcoming Six Nations but appears to have fallen behind Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies in the pecking order.
As for the other two youngsters brought in by Pivac in 2019, they have not featured so prominently.
First, let's deal with Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler.
The slick centre showed promise at age-grade level and turned 20 the day Pivac named his squad back in 2019. He seems to possess the ball-playing skills that, at the time, Pivac was searching for in his midfield and you can understand why the Wales boss wanted a closer look, with one eye on the future.
Thomas-Wheeler was used fairly regularly by Toby Booth at the Ospreys last year and he's now had plenty of experience in the professional game but, at times, the promise shown n training hasn't always been prominent in matches.
The skills, by and large, are there. But it's the decision-making that has come under fire. The right option is not always taken, which is perhaps understandable in a young man learning his trade.
The game moves a lot faster at the top level and that's what Thomas-Wheeler has appeared to be grappling with.
He has not featured as heavily for the Ospreys this term, though. The arrival of Michael Collins might have something to do with that.
Finally we come to Ioan Davies, who was 19 when Pivac reached out.
The full-back impressed greatly at the Junior World Championship earlier in 2019, where his performances drew comparisons to Leigh Halfpenny.
There were superficial similarities - the headguard and the running style. But he was superb in the air, fearless in many ways and punched above his weight.
It was too early to be properly mentioning him in the same breath as Halfpenny, but the signs were difficult to ignore. At the very least, his talent was clear.
But he has found it difficult to kick on. His diminutive stature has likely counted against him in some cases and he left Cardiff Rugby, where he came through the academy, to join the Dragons permanently last summer.
After limited opportunities early in the season, he was loaned out to Jersey Reds just before Christmas.
But then he was recalled by Dean Ryan earlier this month to play against Benetton last weekend, taking his tally to five appearances for the Dragons.
It just hasn't clicked for Davies yet but he is still just 22 and has plenty of time to make it work as he wrestles with the game at the pro level.
Want the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to you? Look no further.
