Flying winger Shane Williams has called on Scott Johnson to snub the offer of a job with the Wallabies and commit his future to Wales.
Johnson has been offered a post as assistant to new Australia coach John Connolly and is expected to make a decision about his future in the coming weeks.
But the Welsh players want Johnson, who took over on a caretaker basis last month after the shock departure of Grand Slam winning coach Mike Ruddock, to remain in charge beyond the expiry of his current contract in April.
Williams described the Australian as "one of the best coaches I have worked with."
"I know I speak for the boys that we don't want to see him go," said Williams, who has 35 caps for his country.
"He has got personal reasons for whatever decision he is going to make, and we are going to have to respect that. He is a great guy and we just hope he stays. I personally want him to stay," Williams said. "Among others he has been at the heart of Wales's success and he's brought so much to the team -- I have learned so much from him."
"He has an all-round knowledge of the game. He can tell you anything about rugby, not only now but about something that happened about 100 years ago. He is so knowledgeable and his intelligence of rugby makes the game a lot easier for the players," Williams said. "I certainly haven't worked with anyone like him before and he is certainly one of the best coaches I have worked under."
Johnson has hinted that family concerns could persuade him to return Down Under.
But he wants his Wales players to try to put the uncertainty of the coaching job to the back of their minds as they prepare for their final Six Nations matches against Italy and France.
"Scott has told us to worry about the rugby and our own games, and Scott is going to have to make the decision he needs to make," added Williams.
Johnson's first match as Wales coach, against Ireland, ended in a 31-5 defeat which has virtually ended any hopes they had of defending their Six Nations title.
Under Ruddock, Wales went down 47-13 to England on the opening weekend and then beat Scotland 28-18.
"It's been a strange month to be honest," admitted Williams. "A lot of things are out of the players' control, and we've just got to do our talking on the field."
"Unfortunately we haven't done that and we have let ourselves down," he said.
The British and Irish Lions wing has recovered from a dead leg he picked up against Scotland and is set to return against the Italians on Saturday.
Wales are also confident flyhalf Stephen Jones will make the match after being forced off with a dead leg in the first half against Ireland.
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