In the latter stages of Warren Gatland's reign, the Welsh fly-half jersey was up for grabs ahead of his final World Cup.
Rhys Patchell had shone on the summer tour of Argentina in 2018, before Gareth Anscombe made the jersey his own that autumn. However, fate cruelly intervened and robbed Anscombe of a place in Japan through injury, allowing Dan Biggar to reassert himself as the first choice.
Since Wayne Pivac took over, his grip on the jersey has never really been tested. Seven other fly-halves have featured in squads since 2020, but Biggar's place in the side has arguably never been stronger.
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It would take something massive for Biggar not to be starting at next year's World Cup in France. However, at 32 years of age and with 100 caps to his name, the end of the Biggar era isn't exactly miles away.
So while the Northampton Saints playmaker will be intent on playing for his country as long as possible, the likelihood that the next long-term Welsh fly-half is already plying his trade at the professional level.
If we start with the seven who have already been called up in the past two years, some are clearly better placed than others. Dragons playmaker Sam Davies hasn't featured in a squad for some time and doesn't seem likely to add to his eight caps anytime soon.
Cardiff playmaker Jarrod Evans is seemingly heading towards the same fate. Despite starting in Pivac's first game against the Barbarians, he's not featured since last summer and seemingly hasn't had much contact from the Welsh coaches.
At least, that was the situation after missing out on selection for the Six Nations. His love of rugby league shines through in how he runs an attack, with one of his trademarks being able to keep his shoulders perfectly square in motion as he picks out gaps with a range of passes, but doubts about his game management and kicking abilities - whether unfounded or not - seem likely to hold him back on the Test scene.
Another Arms Park playmaker, Ben Thomas , is a fly-half/centre hybrid that Welsh rugby always seems desperate to produce. Having made his debut last summer, it seems likelier that he'll build a future as a second five-eighth rather than fly-half.
Bristol Bears' 10 Callum Sheedy has become a favourite of Pivac's, establishing himself as Biggar's deputy since being handed his debut by the former Scarlets coach in the autumn of 2020. Were you looking at the most likely successor right now, at the current age of 26, the former Corpus Christi High School pupil would be up there.
Despite suffering a drop-off in form for the Premiership club this season, he still remains in Wales' plans and, when called upon, has shown he can get the backline firing.
Someone else who has shown decent moments since Pivac brought him back into international rugby is Rhys Priestland . Having played under Pivac at the Scarlets, he's back in Welsh rugby at Cardiff and, when called upon, the 35-year-old has shown that knack of taking the ball to the line and leaving defenders stranded that once made him Gatland's first-choice 10.
Scarlets star Patchell has had his moments on the Test stage, with that 2018 tour perhaps being the pinnacle, but since then, he's been beset by injuries. His recent return has shown that ability as a willing running threat keeps defences guessing and forces the all-court game that Pivac desires.
The other player who competed with Biggar back in the final stages of Gatland's reign was Anscombe . Having been the first choice ahead of Biggar, he's now had to wade through two years of rehab just to get back to playing after a serious knee injury. It's credit to him that he's simply back in the picture. However, playing in an Ospreys side devoid of much attacking prowess isn't exactly helping his cause.
And the thing with Priestland, Patchell and Anscombe is that, baring Patchell perhaps, they're all unlikely to outlast Biggar by much, if at all. So you can probably rule them all out as his successor.
Moving outside of those called up, the obvious name to start with is Sam Costelow . Hype has followed the 21-year-old around for a while now, with eye-catching performances and tries for Wales U20s in the vein of Phil Bennett only adding fuel to that particular fire.
However, the hype is relatively justified as Costelow is undoubtedly talented. Thankfully though, he's been well-managed up to this point. Leicester Tigers didn't rush things to begin with, while the Scarlets have followed a similar guise when he moved to west Wales. Only now is he really starting to become a regular in the Scarlets' 10 jersey and that slow approach is yielding results.
He's maturing into a fine fly-half. It's no wonder he's been marked out as a future Welsh 10 by many.
Bristol's Ioan Lloyd has already been capped by Wales and, right now, you'd imagine his future in the game lies at full-back or even inside centre, but he's capable of playing fly-half and, if Bristol and Pat Lam see fit, that could be the road he heads down. Right now though, his best position is undecided.
Instead, it's his younger brother and club team-mate, Jac Lloyd , who is settled in the fly-half position. He was involved with the U20s during their Six Nations campaign and, like his brother, he is the proud owner of an extravagant sidestep and flair to burn.
Honing his skills as a manager of a game will be next on the to-do list, with the U20s 10 jersey swapping around a bit this year. That should come with experience. As for the other young players who pulled on the 10 jersey for the U20s this year, Dan Edwards has shown nice touches, even if he lost the starting jersey to Lloyd after the Aberavon fly-half was part of the side hammered by Ireland on the opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Joe Hawkins stepped in for Lloyd in the final match against Italy. However, the Ospreys youngster is a centre by trade.
