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Raise Your Game: How do you prepare for a big game?

Ryan Jones: The key to it for me, and what I keep telling the guys, is that it's important to focus on the job at hand. You can't afford to get carried away.

Stay fit, get some form and keep following through. It's a long old season and the games come thick and fast. They're big games as well. You've got to make sure that you're performing week in week out. How you do that as an individual is up to you. Some boys like to get away from everything, others like to immerse themselves in the atmosphere before a big game.

RYG: How do you deal with the pressure of playing for Wales?

RJ: Pressure is part and parcel of playing the game. You don't get to play at this level if you don't appreciate what it demands. Over time you learn to cope with the mental and the external pressures and deal with them. It's something you have to overcome if you want to be a successful international player. Test rugby is tough and pressure is something that makes it a bit tougher.

Whenever you walk out into the stadium in a red jersey the nation expects, it's as simple as that. I don't approach any game differently, whether I've won or lost my last one. It's about going out there and giving it your best. We're certainly a team that does that.

RYG: What does it take to get to the top?

RJ: You need the talent. You need a certain level of composure as well. It's a pretty fierce environment and if you're not mentally tough the pressures will take their toll. That comes with experience and over time. You need to perform every game.

RYG: How do you stay motivated when you won two Grand Slams?

RJ: It's important for me that we kick on now. It's important that we progress and keep moving on. It's important that we build as a team and as individuals.

RYG: What has it taken for you to get where you are?

RJ: It's been a long journey. People don't realise that it doesn't happen overnight. You have to work hard and you have to make a huge amount of sacrifices as you're developing throughout your career. It takes a great deal of effort.

It's not always the biggest or best kid in the class that makes it. It's usually the kid who wants it the most. It's the kid who'll go out and do extra practise. It's the kid that never gives up.

Over time, if you're good enough and you keep developing and keep practising, you'll get better and better and, before you know it, it'll happen for you. The most important thing for me, and the one thing I try to do throughout my career is enjoy it. Every jersey I've ever put on, whether it's for my local club or the Welsh jersey, I've always given the best I could. Enjoy it, that's the most important thing.

RYG: What skills have you learnt from rugby?

RJ: When I was growing up, sport was a really big thing for me. I played a lot of different sports including football and cricket. In a team environment you've got to learn to speak up, but you've also got to learn to listen. When you're part of a team, you have to realise that every member of that team is equally important. Everybody has a role to play. It's the same in life; everyone has a contribution to make and it's a good lesson to learn.