GEORGE North hopes Wales' next generation have caught the self-improvement bug from workaholic captain Alun Wyn Jones during the Six Nations campaign.

Coronavirus led to Wayne Pivac's men being forced to wait for their Principality Stadium finale against Scotland.

The campaign didn't go to plan with a thumping of Italy followed by losses to Ireland, France and England but a number of promising prospects, including uncapped Dragons flanker Taine Basham, got a taste of Six Nations camp.

That meant working alongside legendary lock Jones, who would have gone level with New Zealand great Richie McCaw on 148 caps had he faced the Scots.

The 34-year-old is renowned for his high standards and is the perfect example for Basham and fellow up-and-coming Dragons Leon Brown and Aaron Wainwright, believes North.

Penarth Times:

"It's contagious really," said the Lions wing, who is two games away from a Test century. "You see someone like Alun Wyn, he's played 148 times for his country then you look at him doing his extras.

"For the younger boys, what a person to look up to, what an inspiration. Some of these new guys, it's an amazing environment to be involved in when you have a legend like Alun Wyn doing extra fitness on a Tuesday when he doesn't need to, or doing extra rehab he doesn't need to, or getting his body physically in a great place to play.

"He's doing homework, he's doing extra walk-through with the boys, you think if he's doing that still now, at his age, where you could that he doesn't need to - it's contagious.

"Hopefully we can keep that going for boys to see what a true professional is about."

Jones must wait to go level and then surpass All Blacks icon McCaw but North believes the Ospreys lock has plenty left in the Test tank.

"As a player, he is probably the most professional man I've ever come across in my time and still is to this day," said North.

"What he goes through and puts his body through Monday to Friday to give the performance on the Saturday - and then does it all again - is incredible. As a leader, he's done us incredibly proud.

"Al's a very closed man, he likes to go about his work. He is not a flashy man," continued North.

"It's only when you go day to day with him that you realise how much work he puts in, not just the normal training hours, but the beforehand, the bit after for recovery, the days off getting ready, and just his mindset that it's never done, there's always more to be done."

Wales are in a period of change for the first time since Warren Gatland took the reins after the 2007 World Cup debacle.

Pivac and his coaches are tinkering with the formula but North believes they will profit from the towering presence of Jones.

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"Al is the one constant feature in Wales over the last however many years," said the winger.

"Al is always there, isn't he? I am not saying it is a one-man team but for us he is a huge pillar for our game and our go-forward.

"He is a massive part of Wales, but a massive part of our squad, and is going forward."

It remains to be seen whether Wales will go on tour this summer.

They are scheduled to take on Japan on June 27 before Tests against New Zealand in Auckland and Wellington.