The Welsh Rugby Union face paying out an extra £250,000 for having two coaching teams on their payroll in the run-up to the World Cup this autumn, according to reports.
Warren Gatland is set to relinquish the reins of the 2019 Six Nations champions after the Japan showpiece event with fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac appointed his successor.
Gatland's backroom team of Rob Howley, Shaun Edwards and Robin McBryde will also leave their Welsh posts after the World Cup.
Leinster-bound McBryde is set to be replaced by former Wales captain Jonathan Humphreys while ex-Lions No.10 Stephen Jones will take charge of the backs from Howley.
Edwards' replacement as defence coach has yet to be formally announced by the WRU, but it's set to be Byron Hayward, who has been working under Pivac at the Scarlets.
As a result of all that pre-planning, Pivac, Humphreys and Jones are poised to join the WRU payroll next month, meaning the Union will be forking out for two coaching teams between July and the end of October.
And The Rugby Paper report that figure could reach £250,000 on additional salaries for the incoming coaching team.
The scale of the payout is sure to cause consternation in some circles with the new paybands for players as part of Project Reset already a thorny issue.
And the WRU also face having their revenue, from the four autumn internationals, slashed due to the World Cup with just one game planned against the Barbarians on November 30.
That will be Pivac's first game in charge of Wales against a Baa-baas team coached by Gatland.
Beforehand Pivac will travel to the World Cup with a watching and monitoring brief.
"I won’t be attached to the team," Pivac told WalesOnline last December.
“I will just be there observing, looking at the things they do.
“Just like going to training the other day, you learn a lot and see how people operate.
“I don’t want to be a distraction to anybody so I’ll just be there observing and seeing what lessons we can take out of it.
“See what seems to work or if there is anything we can pick up on and change for the better. It’s just looking and what decisions they’ve made and what can be improved on, if anything.”
