Mike Phillips has labelled Taine Basham as the 'rock star' of the Wales team and says the youngster will go on to play for the British and Irish Lions.
Dragons' openside Basham made a major impact in the autumn with strong showings against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia.
He makes his Six Nations debut on Saturday when he lines up for Wayne Pivac's side against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
And Phillips has marked the 22-year-old as a player who is set to truly hit the heights.
"Wales undoubtedly have gems in our squad, and you don’t need to look further than Louis Rees-Zammit to see that the future is bright," said the former scrum-half in a column for City A.M,
"He scored a great solo effort for Gloucester last weekend.
"But for me flanker Taine Basham is the rock star.
"He’s absolutely solid in his defence, really goes about his job well and I think he will be a British and Irish Lion."
When Phillips played, he wouldn't know a lost cause if it jumped up and smacked him between the eyes.
So despite Wales missing a lot of experience this weekend, you still wouldn't expect him to write off their chances.
True to form, he doesn't, saying: "The first game is always a bit of a leveller. Neither team will be as hot as they are towards the end of the championship and Wales won’t be favourites at all against Ireland.
"But they can definitely sneak a win."
He continued: "Our tight five is a bit of a worry, but I think our back-row will be more than fine. Dan Biggar will easily pull the ropes at No10 and I like the look of Tomos Williams inside him at No9.
"We have an electric starting back three with a good level of depth but I am slightly concerned about the centre options.
"Injured Alun Wyn Jones is no spring chicken, so it’s about time Wales looked at who could succeed him as a dominant forward carrier."
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