The 40-year-old will be looking after one of the most important parts of the game for Wales

Earlier this year, when asked about what his side would do in terms of hiring a coach to look after the aerial game, Steve Tandy admitted that Wales had to "catch-up faster than any other nation because we're at the start of the journey and other teams are further down the track".

Unsurprisingly then, Wales' new kicking coach, Alex Davies, is already preaching the value of being the "trendsetter" when it comes to that area of the game. Hired back in August, the 40-year-old is preparing for his first campaign with Wales, having started formally last month.

The last full-time kicking coach on Wales' coaching staff was Neil Jenkins. Since then, Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell have worked in the role on an interim basis.

Fittingly for a kicking coach, Davies - who joined from Leicester Tigers - has big boots to fill.

"It's very different from the day-to-day of club rugby," he says. "I started at the start of September and there's been a lot of planning behind the scenes from the coaching group, from Dave (Reddin) down around long-term plans leading to the World Cup.

"And then in the short-term with what my responsibilities are, getting out to regions and working with them, working with the nines, the 10s, the kickers, the back-three for high-ball stuff.

"I love being on-pitch coaching, that's where I'm most comfortable. So just to get the chance to come out and do that was great.

"This has been amazing today and yesterday to get everyone in the building, get on pitch and coach - so I'm really enjoying it so far."

The man Davies is replacing on a full-time basis, Wales great Jenkins, is still with the Welsh Rugby Union - with the pair working together on a long-term kicking DNA alongside regional coaches like Halfpenny, James Hook and Scott Sneddon.

"Honestly, it's an absolute privilege for me to be even in the same office as Jenks, who's an absolute legend. Leigh, Hooky, Snedds down at the Scarlets - to have those guys just to chat with and talk tactics and technique. They're all absolute legends.

"Neil Jenkins is an exceptional coach and an exceptional person. He's done it, he's been there, he's coached the best players in the world.

"So for me, it's an absolute privilege to have those boys and all of us be together in the room. Having spoke to Matt Sherratt and Steve, I was super excited and really hungry to get the position and be part of the team."

On that wider kicking DNA for Welsh rugby, teased by new WRU technical director Rhys Long on social media, Davies explained what that will look like.

"I suppose in different stages, there'll be different requirements," he says. "13, 14, 15-year-olds just need to be competent kickers, the basics of the ball drop and what the body does in the kick.

"And as you progress up, it's the tactical side of it, and then marrying them both up under high-pressure environments. And the more you go to U18s and U20s, these boys need to be exposed to that.

"Kick strategy will change game to game depending on who your opponents are, but the underlying technical aspects, the tactical part of it pretty much remains the same. So it's just implementing that in the right stages and what's required for those boys at that age."

Wales' other coaches have already mentioned the work Davies has done with Wales' scrum-halves in alignment camps, with Tandy praising the former Bath fly-half last week.

Davies has already done plenty of work with Wales' half-backs and back-three around the aerial game, which remains a key part of the Test game.

"I think as the game's evolving, you have to be ahead of it," said Davies. "To stay to stay ahead of the trends, to be the trendsetter, to evolve the game.

"With the high-ball stuff, the wingers retreating and catching now, everyone's doing it. At Leicester, we had Freddie Steward, who's world class taking the high ball, so we didn't do that.

"But I think it's just more staying ahead of the trends, being a trendsetter yourself, and trying to evolve our game. Some teams have their wingers retreating and catching now and trying to escape that area, and New Zealand are doing the exact same thing.

"All I would coach in that area is the technical aspects of dominating the space, some technical points around your knee and your hands - where they are - and how we can attack and be super aggressive in that area to win that collision.

"If we don't win it, we've got a plan and a solution around the floor and how we can win that. Most teams will have all that in place.

"The kick is is really important, the accuracy of the kick, your chase, the organization off the back of it, where we can transition to attack straight away. The opportunities off the back of it are huge for your attack, because you manipulate the backfield with their fullback coming forward, which opens up backfield space if we can win it and shift.

"So all this is is a big part of it. We've got really good athletes at getting up in the air and winning that contest. The aerial contest for for Wales has definitely improved from Six Nations to summer in terms of how many balls we got back.

"We jumped up to third in the world for getting the ball back, so we're going to keep continuing that trend and still evolve that to be as high as we can in that area, because it's a huge part of the game.

"You look at the middle part of the game, it's so transitional now with kicks. Everyone's trying to disorientate defences and play off that.

"That's exciting for me. I really enjoy that part of the game, how we can manipulate the backfield, but the fundamentals of the high-ball catch is what we'll be coaching."