As ever, it all starts up front, so the question is what pack should Wayne Pivac select when Wales embark on the defence of their Six Nations title?
All being well, he will face some welcome selection dilemmas with a number of forwards who missed the autumn campaign through injury coming back into the mix.
We asked former Wales second row Gareth Llewellyn - a man with no fewer than 92 caps to his name - to run the rule over the contenders, position by position.
Here are his thoughts and the pack he would like to see start against Ireland in Dublin on February 5.
FRONT ROW
Gareth Llewellyn: "The big issue is how do we compete with Ireland and France up front, because they are the two challenges, as far as I am concerned.
When you put a team together, there are a few things you need and one of them is a set-piece. That is your basic starting point.
Wyn Jones is clearly a proven performer there. He has been a tremendous scrummager and earned himself a place on the Lions.
He has clearly fallen a little bit out of favour with Pivac since coming back from that tour, which is more to do with his conditioning, I believe.
On the other side of the fence, you are trying to strike a balance and get as many ball carriers in the team as possible because any team needs to go forward.
Rhys Carre has more of that in this game than Wyn Jones does. However, he is still developing as a scrummaging loosehead.
The problem is it’s hard to pick on form because these guys haven’t played for such a long time.
I think probably you would say you start with Wyn Jones because it would give that surety in the scrum and then potentially the impact of Carre off the bench.
On the tighthead., looking forward to the World Cup, I would like to see Leon Brown get a run of games.
I think he has got more of an all-court game than the other guys, but it can’t be at the expense of the set-piece.
Any rugby team needs to go forward, you need to have people in there that can give you that, otherwise the sexy stuff doesn’t happen.
We have never been blessed with a huge amount of them.
Those two young guys at prop, Carre and Brown, have the ability to give you that go-forward.
If they could come through and develop as good set-piece props, they have got the all-round ability to add something extra outside of the set-piece.
If you look at the French pack, they have got eight players that can all do their job and go forward in the loose.
At hooker, Ryan Elias came back particularly well in the autumn, to be fair to him. He is a big man and that always helps.
Ken Owens has been a tremendous work-horse for us and has added value in terms of carrying.
But with the age he is now, you have always got an eye on the future. It would be a tough one on Elias not to pick him.
He probably deserves to keep his place after what he did in the autumn and Ken hasn’t actually played yet since picking up his back injury in October.
It would be a big call just to put Ken in based on his past with very little recent rugby under his belt.
Elliot Dee is a decent all-round hooker, but you would probably say Elias has rightly got the nod at the moment.”
Llewellyn’s front row: Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Leon Brown
SECOND ROW
Gareth Llewellyn: “It’s that same thing here, the balance between set-piece and go-forward.
I think we have missed Jake Ball’s carrying since he has gone.
It’s not as it used to be where you had a lineout forward and then a guy at the front of the lineout who was a different kind of player, such as with myself and Phil Davies back in the day for Wales.
All of the guys in the frame now have the potential to be ball-winners and all-round athletes.
The one I would love to see come through is Seb Davies. He is the best second row athlete that we have.
I think he’s been messed around a little bit, playing in the back row. I would love to see him given a run at lock.
Of course, he can do a job on certain days as a back rower. But I think he has got the athletic potential to develop into a fantastic second row.
He just needs to be left there and given a run. He is a big, quick guy. Athletic potential isn’t everything, but it is important and Seb is still young. So I would like to see him getting a run in the second row for Wales.
I would have Adam Beard alongside him. He is a guy that has stepped up and really earned his spot.
He is a big, huge man and it does make a difference. He’s tall, he adds considerable weight in the scrum.
You would probably say he is not as good as Seb Davies or Will Rowlands around the field, but sometimes it’s just that stuff you can’t see. It’s the weight in the scrum and having a big man in the maul, just that powering presence in the lineout.
It’s intimidating when you’ve got someone that height and you are coming in against them."
Llewellyn’s locks: Seb Davies, Adam Beard
BACK ROW
Gareth Llewellyn: “We are spoilt for choice here. I think the game in the back row has changed a little bit.
Just going back a few years, there was a huge emphasis on the tackle-jackal and I think that was sometimes at the expense of a guy who could carry and go-forward, or had a bit more of an all-round game like Faletau.
You can coach people to jackal. Sometimes a carrying game is a bit more natural and instinctive.
Some are always going to be better than others, but everyone should be fairly comfortable at getting over the ball.
You need people who can give you go-forward and have got more of an all-court game, I feel.
Without that, nothing happens behind the scrum.
The difficult one is Justin Tipuric because we are talking someone there who, historically, has a good all-court game. But he hasn’t played since June, so you obviously want him to prove his fitness.
Our first game is Ireland away and they destroyed New Zealand. So I think we need big men to front up.
I think you would have to go with Taulupe Faletau at No 8 if he is fit because he’s absolute quality.
I would be tempted to go with Aaron Wainwright and Thomas Young on the flanks then.
Wainwright is a taller man and a really good athlete, not so much with hard yards but slightly looser in the open spaces.
I just think Young has got an all-court game. He is great over the ball, he has been fantastic in attack for Wasps, he can go up in the lineout.
If we are being brutally honest, it’s the rules and regulations that have kept him from being involved previously.
He has been one of Wasps' best players and he can cover 7, 8 and 6 for you."
Llewellyn’s back row: Aaron Wainwright, Taulupe Faletau, Thomas Young
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