MIKE Ruddock will send his Welsh troops into battle tomorrow with a message from national legend Gerald Davies ringing in their ears.

As part of Team Wales, Ruddock and his management team have produced a booklet for all squad members which is full of protocol for the players as well as sections on the proud history of Welsh rugby.

But pride of place has been given to a motivational message from Davies which Ruddock will ask his side to read before they step out to face the might of South Africa.

The message is aimed to help install some much needed fire back into the Welsh Dragon and inspire Ruddock's side to glory.

National coach Ruddock said: "Every time those boys put on the Welsh jersey there is a huge motivation to do well for the Welsh public.

"We realise that we have been suppressed politically and our outlet is our sporting success so we had a meeting on Wednesday night where we handed out a book on team protocol for the players and part of that booklet contains Welsh sporting history and a message from past internationals.

"And all the time we aim to reinforce that message that Wales is a very passionate country with a lot of proud history and whenever we pull on a jersey we represent that.

"As part of the booklet we've got a message from former players and highly respected journalist Gerald Davies and we've asked players to read his article in particular.

"It is a very emotional and precise piece of writing which tells about the way we should represent Wales and the traditions that have been carried forward from past internationals."

Ruddock though admits that the summer defeat in South Africa where his side got thrashed will be inspiration enough for his team.

He said: "The game in the summer gives them motivation to improve. I think they respect Welsh rugby because of the performance in the World Cup but I'm not sure they respect they way we played when they shipped 50 points on us in the summer, but we just weren't good enough.

"So it is up to us to earn a collective respect.

"If there is one percent of over confidence that might help us but I'm sure they've done their homework on us."