The 25-year-old, who took over as skipper mid-campaign when Gareth Thomas broke his thumb, wants all strands of the Welsh game merging with one goal in mind - more success.

Wales new rugby heroes headed back to their regional teams after achieving a first clean sweep since 1978 and giving coach Mike Ruddock the perfect springboard for World Cup 2007.

But further progression is now the key, with Wales building from a base of European champions and fifth place in rugbys official world rankings.

The Wales players are the showcase and at the top of the structure, but it is not all about us as a team, said Newport Gwent Dragons number eight Owen.

It is about people buying into the regions and the academies and making sure that the whole of Welsh rugby is strong.

People need to embrace that because we dont want this to be a one-off. If we can do that, then we should be in a really good position before the next World Cup.

Hopefully, this will now be the start of something special. We believe we have got a big future, but its up to us to make sure this is not the climax of a three-year journey, but the beginning.