Shane Williams has warned Wayne Pivac against moving wing wonder Josh Adams into the centre for Wales' Six Nations opener with Ireland on Saturday.
Pivac has strongly hinted he is considering Adams in a more central role for the tournament as he ponders his options for Wales' defence of their title.
But Welsh record try scorer Williams says he would hate to see that call made and is urging Pivac to keep Adams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams as a back three capable of wreaking havoc on opposition defences in the coming weeks.
Pivac picked Adams at 13 against Fiji in the autumn, only for the Cardiff star to injure himself during the warm-up and pull out of the game.
But Pivac is considering him as a centre option again, which would see Johnny McNicholl come into the starting line-up on the wing.
Asked about the prospect of Adams in the centre, Pivac explained: "It’s always been in the back of our minds, that he has the ability and the skill set to play in more than one position.
"He obviously played well at full-back on the Lions tour and has played there (centre) at club level.
"We want to see if he can do it at this level. There’s a World Cup coming up and you want to build depth in positions.
"When you can only take 33 to a World Cup, having guys who can play in multiple positions is important."
However, Williams is hoping Pivac opts against such a move by saying in a column for The Rugby Paper : "I'm against the calls to play Josh Adams at centre.
"True, he was used there in an emergency in the autumn, and he is capable of playing there.
"But as we have fully fit centres, I'd hate to see him brought into the middle.
"He is a world class wing and he needs to stay where he is most comfortable and an make the most impact.
"You need your best players in their best positions at this level and that means Josh and Rees-Zammit play on the flanks. They will frighten any team if you can get the ball to them."
Assessing Pivac's centre options, Williams reckon Willis Halaholo is a shoo-in at 12.
However, he doesn't feel Jonathan Davies will get the 13 jersey and reckons it's a choice between Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin if, as he hopes, Pivac opts against utilising Adams there.
He says that while Halaholo's defence isn't the strongest, "he knows how to torment the opposition with running and distribution skills" and that Saturday "has got be about finding a way to score" rather than just aim to stop.
"Do you put the experienced head of Jon Davies next to him? Probably not, given the lack of form he has displayed recently," writes Shane.
Wales veteran Davies captained the team against South Africa in the autumn and also when Alun Wyn Jones went off injured against New Zealand, but was left out of the next two games with Fiji and Australia as Pivac plumped for Ellis Jenkins as skipper.
Dan Biggar will captain Wales during the Six Nations.
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