“You can still be fully professional and enjoy yourself"

The Wales great who also represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction

- KEN OWENS

WHEN I started playing for the Scarlets, there were still a lot of players around who bridged the amateur and professional eras. They trained and worked really hard but they enjoyed the game and everything that went with it. But there's a different attitude now.

People look at football and say this is how other pro sports do it for comparison.

Rugby has some great traditions but there's still a place for the old school. You can still work hard and enjoy yourself at the same time and still be fully committed and professional.

It has changed. We used to pack casual clothes for away trips but now you're flying straight back from the game and there's not so many ten- or 15-hour travel days. You're chartering a plane, flying in and out and getting the job done. That's the biggest change: how you travel to games and spending time in the opposition's company, but I think Covid added to that. Teams have found a different way of doing things.