For Warren Gatland, the job of assessing Welsh players began in earnest before he'd even been confirmed as Wales coach once again.
While his predecessor Wayne Pivac was enduring his final autumn in charge, Gatland was in the press box on the lower tier of the Principality Stadium - sat alongside two of his former stalwarts, Jamie Roberts and Sam Warburton - watching on.
From there, he learned a fair bit. One thing he'd have known beforehand is that back-row depth isn't really an issue in Wales.
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"There's some absolute quality in loose forwards," he said on what he'd learned during the autumn. "There are some positions where there’s not so much depth."
Addressing those areas of depth - or rather the lack of it - will be a priority, with Wales' front-row and midfield options remaining a bit of an issue. But while Gatland is right that there's an embarrassment of riches in the back-row, that still provides him with a dilemma of sorts.
Towards the end of the autumn, it felt like Wales had stumbled upon a back-row that works well. Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau remain vitally important to whatever Wales do and seem certain to start under Gatland.
Alongside them, Jac Morgan has proven himself as a perfect option on the blindside. From the moment he stepped off the bench against Argentina, the Ospreys flanker shone as one of the bright spots in a dark autumn.
Given Gatland name-checked Morgan during his Amazon Prime duties and when he took the job, it seems a good bet that the 22-year-old could get the nod in the returning Wales coach's back-row at the start of next year.
Throw in Tommy Reffell from Leicester, who started all three summer tour matches against South Africa and the autumn opener against New Zealand, and potentially you've got your matchday squad sorted.
So, there you go. Issue solved. Or maybe not as there are plenty of other names in the frame, too.
Under Gatland, the back-row by and large picked itself. For long periods, it was a mix of Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, Tipuric and Faletau.
Under Pivac, the back-row seemed to rotate from week to week. In his 34 matches in charge of Wales, he used 22 different back-row combinations as he wrestled with injuries and trying to solve Wales' continuous breakdown issues. That high number of back-row trios is also testament to the depth Wales boast in this area.
Gatland will likely look to find some continuity from six to eight, but to do that properly, he'll still need to cast his eye over all the options available.
Morgan, Tipuric and Faletau are in pole position, but there are countless others pushing hard.
Thomas Young and James Botham have been in fine form for Cardiff this season - helping the Arms Park side to steal more turnover ball than other side in the URC. However, they have been overlooked by Wales throughout 2022.
Botham was initially capped by Pivac and played a key role off the bench in the 2021 Six Nations triumph, but has dropped off the radar a little with Wales in the last year. Young is another who has been in the odd squad, but has not really been allowed the chance to make a mark at Test level.
However, they have rarely put forward such convincing arguments for selection as in the last few weeks. The pair have been superlative for Cardiff, with Young's all-round game and deceptive pace crucial to their stunning victory over the Sharks. As for Botham, he's another all-court flanker in the mould of Josh Navidi that could suit what Wales need when it comes to securing clean ball at rucks.
Speaking of Navidi, he was one of Gatland's favourites once the Wales coach finally saw fit to select him after years of unrewarded work in the Welsh capital. Since Gatland's farewell at the 2019 World Cup, injuries have hit Navidi hard.
On his day, though, he's perhaps as important a player as any in the Welsh team, given the work he does around the park. He is slowly recovering from neck surgery but it is hoped he'll be back in the new year. Another one in the mix for Gatland.
Of the other back-row options at Cardiff, Josh Turnbull had his brief recall in the summer of 2021, but seems unlikely to get another one despite being a constant in Dai Young's side, while James Ratti could be an option at No. 8 should Gatland wish - with the 25-year-old being included in two Welsh squads this year, but not being capped.
Then there is Ellis Jenkins. This time last year he was fresh from captaining Wales in the autumn. But he appeared to pay the price for a poor team performance in the Six Nations in Dublin when Ireland dominated Wales across the board and he's not been seen in a Test jersey since.
A knee injury kept him from training over the summer and hasn't featured competitively for the Blue and Blacks this year, but he has been named to start against Newcastle this weekend. Still, it's hard to envisage any sort of recall for Jenkins under Gatland right now.
Away from the capital, the Dragons have a whole Welsh back-row of their own. Against New Zealand last year, Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright started, but a year later none of them were in the squad.
Basham's was injury-related, with the dynamic openside sustaining a dislocated elbow that ruled him out. He's back in training and will be vying to break back into the crowded openside cupboard.
However, for Moriarty and Wainwright, there was no injury issue. They were simply, and surprisingly, overlooked.
Moriarty brings a physicality to the Welsh back-row that few others can match. He's also a staple of Gatland's past squads so a recall looks likely - particularly given how little sense his omission made in the first place with the lack of options at six and eight in the last autumn squad.
As for Wainwright, he was another brought through by Gatland - playing a key role in the last World Cup. Since then though, he's been shifted between blindside and No. 8 for club and country.
It's unclear where Gatland will see his future lying, but he'll have some credit in the bank with the returning coach to warrant a look. Ollie Griffiths is also back in training and has long been a contender for selection should he keep fit.
Moving down west, Dan Lydiate will be struggling to make the Six Nations after breaking his arm against Argentina, while Morgan Morris has remained uncapped despite being one of the form No. 8s in the country. Maybe Gatland will share a different view on Morris to Pivac, but it feels likelier than not that the Ospreys star won't step up.
At the Scarlets, Josh Macleod finally got his Welsh cap this autumn after so many near-misses. Pivac described him as a back-row in the mould of Navidi, so there could be an appeal for Gatland there.
There are also the second-row/back-row hybrids, with Seb Davies winning a couple of caps at six earlier this year and Christ Tshiunza also looking like a potential starter down the line. However, Davies stated this week he wants to focus on second-row, while Tshiunza's future could also lie at lock.
Gatland will want the consistency in back-row selection that he once had, but which Pivac never achieved. To do that, he'll still need to find the right composition to begin with - and, given the options, it's not an easy choice.
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