Raising the dragon : a clarion call to Welsh rugby

Welsh rugby icon Robert Jones aims to provide a realistic assessment of the Welsh game.

All aspects of the sport are put under the microscope - from the grass roots to the national stadium - and Jones draws heavily on lessons learned and observations made during his illustrious career.Rugby has become unquestionably ingrained in the social fabric of Wales.

Nowhere else on the face of the planet is the game more passionately supported and played.

Pulling on the famous red jersey is the ultimate expression of Welsh pride.At one time touring times from the southern hemisphere knew that their hardest games would be in Wales; the Welsh national team was consistently the strongest in Britain.

That's all changed. Wales is now one of the game's also-rans. With only one Home Chamipionship since 1980 and little success in the World Cup, Welsh rugby - despite some consolidation under Graham Henry - is badly in need of fresh thinking and ideas.Who better to provide them than Robert Jones, the man who was widely regarded as one of the best scrum-halves of his era, yet whose playing career coincided with that period of Welsh decline?