"He is a born communicator, a bubbling enthusiast about his work with a ready smile that hides a ruthless streak which has been essential as he has put the new regime in place." John Taylor speaks to WRU boss Roger Lewis.

When Roger Lewis walked into his office at the Welsh Rugby Union to take over as Group Chief Executive on October 30th 2006 he found a letter on his desk from Keith Rowlands, the President.

'He said it was incumbent on me to regain the reputation and standing of Welsh rugby both on and off the field,' recalls Lewis.

'Then I was taken to lunch at the County Club (just 50 yards from his office in the Millennium Stadium) by the previous President, Sir Tasker Watkins who was very supportive but marked my card very clearly.'

Lewis already knew the huge responsibility he was undertaking. '125 years of history, the achievements, the enormous expectation because of the place Welsh rugby holds in the psyche of the people.

'It's the glue that holds communities together, the stuff of dreams. The Welsh people are very passionate and very knowledgeable about it. I still have Keith's letter and Sir Tasker's words.'

Less than two years on Lewis has transformed the WRU. The whole structure of the Union has changed, there is a new executive team in place off the field and a new coaching team on the field.

Wales were a laughing stock when they ineptly crashed out of the World Cup to Fiji; now, under Warren Gatland, they start the new season as Grand Slam winning European champions.

Lewis is a born communicator, a bubbling enthusiast about his work with a ready smile that hides a ruthless streak which has been essential as he has put the new regime in place.

He is Welsh through and through but cut his business teeth in multi-national corporations such as Polygram and EMI later moving on to run Classic FM and most recently ITV Wales - all content driven businesses which were ideal preparation for the task awaiting him at the WRU.

He enjoys likening himself to a bus driver. ' I inherited a business that had its roots very much in the amateur past. We had to bring that business kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

'I couldn't do that by myself, I don't have the skills but, hopefully, I know who needs to be on the bus - and, by the way, who needs to get off - and where everybody sits.

'I was shocked, I make no bones about that, at the lack of systems, structures, staff and skills that I inherited.'

He was particularly concerned about the financial management of the organisation and quickly recruited Steve Phillips.

'He was the very successful Financial Director of TBI, who has run airports round the world but is also a former captain of Amman United. I employed him for his financial skills but you need people who have a sensitivity for what we're doing,' says Lewis with a passion.

Next came Gwyn Dolphin to head up the commercial department - another Welshman but with an international background in Formula 1 dealing with corporate giants such as Vodafone.

And, finally, in came John Williams as Head of Communications poached from his old company, ITV Wales - all serious players in their respective fields.

In that first year Lewis wrote off millions to 'clean out the stables' and put the business on a sound financial footing and when the on-field team failed to deliver Lewis was equally decisive.

'Gareth had said "judge me on the World Cup" and I wanted him to resign but he is a proud man and didn't want to. I felt he had to go immediately - I didn't want a period of uncertainty while we looked at the possibilities. I have great admiration for Gareth and what he has done for Welsh rugby but I felt he was between a rock and a hard place and had to go.

'I immediately got on the phone and talked to all the major players and as soon as we met with Warren - it was lunchtime at Auckland Airport on October 17th - I knew he was our man,' he says with such fervour you know it's not just a good sound bite!

So where to now? 'It's all based on a vision,' says Lewis, sounding just a little self-conscious for the first time. 'I've had my leg pulled about this but we need to take Wales to the world and, with our magnificent stadium, welcome the world to Wales.

'There are three strands to this. Regaining our standing in the global game - and that means being in the top 5. Then you can have a shot at being in the top 3 and from there anything is possible. We've started that by being Number 1 in Europe this year.

Second, in terms of the community game it's all about maximising participation and getting as many people engaged as possible - the regions have a vital role here and we are strengthening ties with them.

The third part is to utilise this magnificent stadium, which the WRU owns and manages, to the full - to make sure it's a must play and must visit venue for a range of activities. Because of the roof and the removable pitch it is a wonderfully versatile facility and because of its location it has an enormous impact on the whole city of Cardiff.'

We met on the day Barclays Bank were announcing a new relationship with the WRU, cancelling various restrictive covenants and effectively giving them a massive vote of confidence. At last the WRU appears to be on a very sound footing and much of the credit for that must go to Roger Lewis.