British & Irish Lions supremo Sir Clive Woodward has acclaimed Wales achievement in being crowned RBS 6 Nations champions for the first time, and Ruddock expects a sizeable Welsh contingent when the squad is announced on April 11.

Injuries permitting, Gareth Thomas, Shane Williams, Tom Shanklin, Gavin Henson, Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel, Gethin Jenkins, Martyn Williams and Michael Owen would all appear to be leading contenders for a tour highlighted by three Tests against Graham Henrys All Blacks.

Flanker Colin Charvis, who missed the RBS 6 Nations due to a broken foot, is another strong candidate and, given Wales dominance of this seasons tournament, the list could stretch well into double figures.

The players have done the business, and I wouldnt be surprised if there are 10-plus Welsh players on the tour, said Ruddock.

At the minimum, 10, and I would have thought there will be a lot more.

I am quite excited about the fact that a lot of players could go on the Lions tour and come back with a lot of good experiences and further their rugby development.

The pundits pretty much wrote off Welsh players Lions prospects pre-Six Nations, and one such national newspaper article so interested Ruddock that he pinned it on the training centre noticeboard.

I remember the first year I coached Swansea, and there was a story headlined Super flops because Swansea hadnt beaten Llanelli for about 11 games, he added.

So I pinned it up in the changing room and I said I would it rip it down when we beat Llanelli. We then beat them to win the league.

Sometimes, you use those things. I dont how much of a difference that made to the players - they might not have even noticed it - but to me, it was something that I wanted to see up on the wall that would hopefully change quite drastically the course of the season.

After a nights prolonged celebration, the Welsh squad maintained its vibrant party mood in central Cardiff on Sunday as realisation of achieving a first Grand Slam for 27 years began hitting home.

Its about the players, said Ruddock.

They are the ones that make the tackles, catch the ball, pass the ball, score the tries, kick the goals and put their heads in the scrum.

As coaches, we can only do so much, and the main job is to try and give them an environment where they can feel comfortable with what is going on and challenged by the game plan that we have given them.