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WAYNE PEEL
Afternoon Dwayne, how are you?
Very good, thanks.

Who’s your tip for the Six Nations then?
Wales, of course! In honesty, it’s too early to say, but Wales will go in with another very good side. I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t impress again this year.

How do you rate the current crop of Welsh players?
I think there’s a lot of quality in the side, a superb bunch of players to be honest. On top of that, we have a lot of emerging talent. We’re really at the point in Wales where we could have good teams for several years to come because the supply line seems solid.

So solid, that not even you are guaranteed a game.
We have great strength in depth. That applies to my position as well. It’s something all good sides need, to get to the next level.

How would you compare our current Grand Slam champions to the winners of 2005?
It’s pretty hard to compare, in truth. I was part of both sides and technically we have always been excellent. Not much difference there. Sometimes we have not had the physicality to compete with some of the very best in the world, but I’d say now that we are stronger and better physically. We certainly have the physicality to compete and we showed that against South Africa. They are up there as the strongest guys in rugby and we held our own.

How do you assess the impact made by Warren Gatland?
I think he’s done a great job, to be honest with you. Just look at the results. He came in at a time when we were all quite low after the World Cup and we won a Grand Slam a few months later. The coaching team he has in place is as good as you can get. There’s no messing around, all he wants is to get the best out of his players and it works.

How would you describe his personality?
He is pretty quiet but when he speaks he makes a lot of sense. He knows what he wants from people and he knows how to get it. He generates a lot of respect from the players; we respect him as a person and a coach. We know he is a coach that can take this group of players very far.

You wouldn’t want to cross him when he’s angry.
No, you wouldn’t.

But you did cross the border. Was it difficult to leave Llanelli Scarlets to join Sale Sharks earlier this year?
It was just the right move for me. I played in Wales my whole career and, like I said at the time, it was a chance to experience somewhere else. It wasn’t because of money; that’s nonsense. I loved playing for Scarlets, and I loved their fans. But it was a good move for my career and a chance to do something different. I play at different grounds, with and against different players in a different league. It was a great chance to do something a bit new so I don’t have any regrets in that regard.

Any abuse from your family and friends because of the move?
Just a little, but all in good nature.

Do you envisage yourself returning to Wales at some stage in the future?
I’d love to come back and play again at some point, but I don’t know what will happen in the future or if the chance will come up. Right now I am very happy playing my rugby in Sale.

MIKE PHILLIPS
Hello Mike, it’s been a frustrating few months for you, what with being out since March with a knee problem.
You could say that. I love playing rugby for Wales and Ospreys and not being able to has been driving me up the wall.

Not an easy time, especially recently with the attack in Cardiff (which led to him being hospitalized in October). A lot of people have come out and said you, as a pro sportsman recovering from knee surgery, should not have been out at 4am on a Saturday night.
All I want to say is that we are all entitled to go out and enjoy our time off. I am a young guy, single, I should be able to go out in Cardiff. It’s been a frustrating few months and I just wanted to enjoy my night. As a Welsh player in Cardiff you get hassle. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing photographs and signing autographs, but there are people out there who get jealous or whatever and try and spoil your night.

What actually happened?
I don’t really want to talk about it, but it was not nice for me or my family.
OK, so what do you make of Wales’ performances in the autumn internationals?
Brilliant, to be honest. We were superb in all the games and could definitely have beaten South Africa. And not many teams lead New Zealand at half-time.

There still seem to be questions about the team’s mental strength.
It’s about getting used to winning and going the final mile in games. It’s a young squad but with each win we are getting more and more confident which in turn, I reckon, will make us quite formidable on the world stage. We have got to be confident and pretty arrogant when we are out on the field. There’s a tremendous pressure in Wales and we have to really believe we are good enough to take on the top teams. You need confidence and we are getting that. We certainly have the players to beat just about anyone.

In fact, scrum-half seems to be where the hottest competition is. That must annoy you a bit.
It doesn’t annoy me because, let’s face it, it’s good for the team.

All sportsmen say that, but no one likes sitting on the bench.
True, but we are lucky to have a lot of good players in the same position. If I want to be in the team I have to get selected ahead of Dwayne Peel, who in 2005 was on the Lions’ Tour and everyone was saying he was among the best in the world. I started every game except one in the last Six Nations and think I took my chances. Now Gareth Cooper is getting the games. It can only be good to have competition for the places. We have a lot of faith in the team Warren Gatland selects.

What’s your take on Gatland?
I think he is a top guy, a very good coach. He knows what he wants and how to get it from us. He is pretty quiet. I remember from day one when he started talking the boys were sat on the edge of their seats listening to him.

How do you think Wales will cope with the pressure of expectation when they defend the Six Nations? Traditionally, the Wales team struggles when the expectations are high.
We are Six Nations Champions and Grand Slam Champions and there’s no doubt we can win the Championship again. The confidence the team will have gained in the autumn will go a long way. Mental strength is beating France in the Millennium Stadium for the Grand Slam (like they did last year). We know we can win again and now it’s a case of proving it.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

Explosive half-backs Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips are battling for the same Wales shirt.
Riath Al-Samarrai puts them through their paces