NEWPORT Gwent Dragons should go back to their roots and become more of a community club, urges their former No 8 Michael Owen, who captained Wales in their Grand Slam triumph in 2005.

He also believes the Dragons should use what he describes as “the unique Rodney Parade atmosphere” to their advantage.

“There is so much potential with the Dragons, they are in an absolutely brilliant position now,” he said. “Others have spent big money but haven’t quite got the rewards, they have all got new stadia but are in danger of losing that feeling for their community.

“But the atmosphere at Rodney Parade is unique in the professional game so they should sell themselves as a community club.

“The Ospreys and the Blues, in particular, have got beautiful new stadia but they have lost that fervent support.

“They have a poor atmosphere there whereas if there are 8,000-10,000 fans at Rodney Parade the place is bouncing and it’s intimidating for other teams, players hate going there.

“If the Dragons can beat Gloucester in the LV Cup semi-final next month and get to the final it can change the whole outlook, even though it’s classed as a second tier competition, players will think ‘we can do something here.’ They’ve got a talented, competitive XV so they should go for it and keep developing young players.

“If I was anything to do with the Dragons I’d look to tap into the Gwent area which produces a lot of players, they need to get out and try to be a real community club.

“They’ve got a captive audience there and they can have a big pool of talent.

“The Blues have got plenty of players coming in from the Rhondda area so they are producing their own players, what the Dragons have got to do is put the building blocks in place, be on a solid footing and really kick on.

“They need a bit of desire, ambition and a dream.

“I loved playing for the Dragons, but it was stagnant with everyone accepting their fate, it was considered good to finish ninth or tenth in the league, but you have got to have a dream.

“Wales had their worst record in 2003 when they went 10 games without a win, but two years later won the Grand Slam, so it can happen, you need to think big and go for it.”

And former Dragons captain Jason Forster says developing good young players and making key signings is the secret to future success.

“It’s a big region and they’ve got some talented players, but they have to combine that with key signings,” he said. “The facilities are starting to get done, that’s the key to attracting the right players, though they’ve got some cracking youngsters with the likes of Dan Lydiate, Toby Faletau, Jason Tovey and Martyn Thomas, they’ve been given the opportunity and have produced the goods.

“Some people can’t see the finished product in our area and then try to sign the finished product.

“It’s a results driven business, the supporters are not silly, they know and love the sport and they want to see the team win.

“The Blues have got a bigger budget but are not bringing home the silverware and the Ospreys with their budget are not winning either.

“The Dragons can’t afford to have two squads so the signings have got to be spot on and dynamite.”

Meanwhile, David Watkins has shown he’s still got it, even if it’s now in the prediction business.

He was spot on in Saturday’s Argus ahead of Wales’ match at Murrayfield when he said about James Hook, “You still need players with natural ability who can turn the game and he’s the sort of guy who can do that... a player like him can break the mould.”

And on the possible outcome of the game he said with uncanny accuracy, “If Wales start well that will breed confidence... if we play as well as we are able to, we can win, but we’ve got to start well.”