The new Wales forwards coach believes Wales are well-set to enjoy a strong Guinness Six Nations campaign which kicks off against Italy at the Principality Stadium on February 1. And the former Wales hooker is champing at the bit to work with some of the best forward talent in Wales.
“In terms of the foundations that have been laid it’s a huge credit to all the coaching staff who were here before,” said Humphreys.
“I feel honoured and privileged to come in. I’ve been at the other end when you’re coming into international rugby and those foundations aren’t there.
“We are working off great foundations and hopefully we can take Wales forward. There’s a lot of strength in this squad.
“There’s also a lot of strength underneath this squad which is a really strong position to be in moving forward.”
Pivac named five uncapped players in his first Six Nations squad with two of those in the forwards in the shape of Sale Sharks tighthead prop WillGriff John and Wasps second-row Will Rowlands.
While Wales possessed a powerful scrum during the Warren Gatland era Humphreys is hoping he can take the set-piece to a new level.
“The scrum is of huge importance to us,” he said.
“I think Leon has done a great job in terms of the set-piece especially. I’d like to note all the regions have been great. All the forwards coaches at the regions have been great to work with.
“We understood what we wanted from that and they’ve done a great job in helping him scrummage straight and he’s an athlete. We went up to Sale to watch WillGriff John a few times and I was delighted to see what he does at the set-piece.
“We went up a couple of weeks later to have a coffee with him and talk about the game. There were some areas we wanted him to work on outside the set-piece and he’s certainly done that.
“We all know his background as a back-rower and he’s worked hard on what he can do outside the scrum. He’s a huge man and he wanted to play for Wales.
“He’s made those improvements and at 27 he’s a great age profile. The thing for us and the non-negotiable for us is we want our tight-head’s to scrummage straight and square.
“These boys are working extremely hard to be able to do that and hopefully that’s going to be able to give us solidity and dominance in that area.”
