World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry says Wales will be 'one of the teams to beat' in Japan this autumn.
And the New Zealander, who led Wales from 1998-2002, believes it's 'highly probable' current coach Warren Gatland will take over at the All Blacks one day.
Henry led New Zealand to World Cup success in his homeland in 2011 and then saw his assistant Steve Hansen defend their global crown four years on.
The All Blacks remain the hot favourites to make it three Webb Ellis Trophy wins on the trot in Japan, but Henry is adamant 2019 Six Nations champions Wales will have a huge say in the knockout stages.
Wales' Pool D clash with the Wallabies will have a bearing where they would meet New Zealand in the latter rounds.
Beat Australia and Wales would likely avoid a meeting with their long-time nemesis until the final itself.
But lose to Michael Cheika's side at the Tokyo Stadium on September 29 and Wales would face a much more hazardous route, with England the likely opponents in the last eight and Hansen's Kiwis set to face the winner in the semi-finals.
"I think Wales have a good chance," Henry told the BBC.
"It's going to be a lot closer than it was in 2015 when New Zealand had a distinct edge. It will be a highly competitive World Cup."
Henry believes the challenge awaiting Gatland is maintaining the standard set in securing the Grand Slam.
"Wales have proved they are the best side in Europe. Whether they can maintain that, I think they can," he said.
"Ireland and England should be competitive and South Africa are improving.
"Hopefully the World Cup will galvanise the All Blacks into some improvements because they have not played that well in recent times or as they have done previously around the 2015 World Cup."
On Gatland's 12-years at the helm, including their current 14-game winning run, Henry said: "Warren has done a superb job.
"I actually texted him after they broke the record and said 'Could you please pass on the congratulations from the 1999 side to the 2019 one for beating our record'.
"He texted me back because we know each other pretty well and he was appreciative of the message.
"He was very complimentary about the character of the side and the personalities that make up the squad.
"He was very positive and I texted him again after the Six Nations following the Grand Slam, which was outstanding."
When asked if he thinks Gatland will get the All Blacks job, he said: "It is highly probable."
