Rugby mastermind Joe Schmidt's elevation within the All Blacks coaching ranks has been labelled a "masterstroke", with the potential to yield "scary" results, according to one of his former players.
Last week, Schmidt was officially promoted from his role as selector to assistant coach for the All Blacks, where he'll be primarily tasked with overseeing the team's attack.
The move was part of NZ Rugby's initiative to galvanise the All Black' coaching stocks under Ian Foster, who - despite a tsunami of public pressure in the wake of a series of defeats - retained his role as head coach until after next year's World Cup in France.
Former Blues star Isa Nacewa spent three seasons playing for Schmidt at Irish club Leinster, where he quickly realised he was under the charge of a gifted rugby savant, whom he believes will have an immediate impact on not only the All Blacks players, but the wider coaching group itself.
"Joe brings a different level of intensity," Nacewa told Sky Sport's The Breakdown. "There's a lot of great coaches in the world, but he's been labelled 'Mr Rugby' for a reason.
"As a player, you often think you've brought an idea to the table and, lo and behold, he's probably thought about it from six different angles and six steps ahead of you.
"He also brings an unprecedented difference of level for coaches and makes coaches bring their game up another notch as well. He knows how to get the best out of players and he just doesn't let off.
"He's very easy to prank, because he's so focused on rugby the majority of the time.
"He brings a level of ongoing intensity - whether it's analysis, training, whether it's the game, what you were eating. I think that works for certain groups and, for this group, it was just a masterstroke with [Foster].
The 56-year-old's exploits at test level are all too familiar to Kiwi rugby fans. He has twice plotted the downfall of the All Blacks, including a famous win at Chicago in 2016, when Ireland earned their first-ever victory over the men in black, as they made their way to the top of the World Rugby's rankings for the first time.
After stepping down from his role to return to New Zealand and spend time with his family, Schmidt dipped his toes back in the rugby waters with an advisory role with the Blues.
Alongside head coach Leon MacDonald, he helped re-establish the Auckland-based franchise as a force, winning Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and reaching the final of Super Rugby Pacific this year.
"They were loving his input," said former All Black Jeff Wilson of Schmidt's influence at the Blues.
"His passion, his level of detail... he's got a clear level of understanding of the game that is rare."
Schmidt's reputation for developping and moulding a group of players precedes him, and he's still spoken about in almost mythical terms at every team he's been a part of.
Now handed a squad of some of the best players in the world, the prospects - according to Nacewa - are near terrifying.
"He has always been at teams - Clermont, Leinster, Ireland - where he's had to have a group of players, build them up and then have them absolutely perform," he noted.
"But now he's coming to the elite of elite players… this is the All Blacks that he gets his hands on and get involved with, and that is a scary thought."
The rugby public will have another opportunity to see Schmidt's growing imprint, when the All Blacks take on Argentina in a Rugby Championship showdown at Christchurch on Saturday.
Join us at 7pm, Saturday for live updates of the Rugby Championship clash between the All Blacks and Argentina
