RedHanded: Right, Matthew. Let’s get to know you. Where’s home?
Matthew Rees: I’m from Tonyrefail, near Llantrisant. It’s where I grew up. Nice place. I live with my wife, daughter and dog – the four of us are very happy.

What does a typical day off entail for you?
Chilling, to be honest. There can be a lot of pressure involved in playing for Wales but being home helps with that. It keeps me grounded. If I have a bad game my mates will tell me just that and it helps. I don’t get any hassle or anything around here so I’ll normally just get up in the morning, take the dog out – he’s a beagle, nine years old, a good boy. Other than that I’ll probably catch up with some friends and I quite like a game of golf.

What’s your handicap?
About 18. It’s a frustrating game. Play well one minute and then the next…

It’s a common problem. How about books - what was the last book you read?
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s autobiography. It was interesting. He had a tough upbringing but he has risen to become the best at what he does. He’s a genius, really.

And who would you say your sporting hero is?
I’d probably say Pete Sampras. I really admired him - I used to love watching him play at Wimbledon. He was so solid, a real winner. You knew he wouldn’t crack under pressure.

What would you have been if you weren’t a professional sportsman?
That’s a hard one because I’ve played rugby since I was so young. I quite fancy going into business in some capacity when I’m done playing - I have recently invested in the Red Lion pub in Pendoylan so I might do more stuff like that. If I wasn’t a professional rugby player I think I would still be involved in the game, maybe as a development officer.

Aside from a house or car, what would you say was your most expensive purchase?
Probably my watch. I bought it when I was in South Africa in 2009 with the Lions. It was about £3,500.

Will we be seeing you on Strictly Come Dancing any time soon?
Never say never, but I’m concentrating on my rugby! Gav (Gavin Henson) is obviously doing well with his television stuff at the moment, but you have to be careful that you don’t take your eye off your rugby and get carried away. The game is always moving forward so it can be quite hard to come back in.

How’s he getting on?
I wasn’t part of the squad that played the Barbarians (Rees was rested for the match in which Henson made his international comeback.) but I heard from the lads that he was good. He worked hard and that’s great to see. He’s a fantastic talent when he’s fit and healthy. We’d all love for him to get back to the level where he was at because he’d be an asset to any team.

Speaking of rugby, it’s not been a bad year for you. Did it come as a surprise to you when Warren Gatland handed you the captaincy last October?
For me, personally, it’s been fantastic. I’d say getting the Welsh captaincy is up there with playing for the Lions as my best moment in rugby. Warren just came up to me in a training session, wanted to have a word and said he wanted to give me the captaincy. He said it would be fine if I didn’t want that responsibility, but I said, “No chance - it’s mine!” I wasn’t going to turn that down! Captaining your country is something I can’t describe. But no, it wasn’t a huge surprise. Ryan (Jones) was injured and I’d been doing a good job at Scarlets after being made captain there.

How would you describe your style? Are you a ranter and a raver in the dressing room?
I like to try to lead by example, get stuck in and do the best I can. And yeah, in the dressing room I guess I like to give a speech. But it’s more than just one person – I have experienced guys all around me. It’s not a quiet dressing room.

There has been some negative media recently regarding the off-field discipline of the side and staff - Gavin Henson, Andy Powell, Mike Phillips, Shaun Edwards and Bradley Davies have all been caught up in incidents. What’s your take on it?
I’d prefer not to comment.

OK. How would you assess the current state of the Welsh squad?
We have the players to do very well. If you look at the strength and depth of our squad we can give anyone a game. Look at the talent in our coaching staff, as well. We have everything we need to do well.

But there is a suspicion that this side peaked too soon, taking the Slam in 2008 yet struggling in a World Cup year.
I wouldn’t say we are struggling. There have been difficult moments over the last 18 months, but there is nothing to panic about. I think we played well in certain games and poorly in others. We are not far from things clicking and when they do we will be in very good shape. I have a lot of confidence in this squad. We need to gain some momentum – momentum is so important - because when we get that momentum I’m sure we’ll be hard to stop. These warm-up games against England (August 6 and August 13) and Argentina (August 20) are important. They are very good teams and any game against England becomes significant for obvious reasons. If we now go out and beat good teams like that we can take a lot forward to New Zealand.

You genuinely believe Wales can win the World Cup?
Definitely. It all starts with these summer games. If we win those and get going there is no reason why we can’t go on and win the World Cup.

Do you feel like you have any unfinished business after what happened in 2007?
I wouldn’t call it unfinished business but I am desperate for us to do well, as are all the team. We had a bad time in 2007 – it was the worst moment of my career – and I never want to go through that again. It was frustrating and disheartening. We thought we were more than capable of reaching the quarters – that was a good squad of boys - but we were beaten by Fiji and that was that. It was horrible, that feeling that we had let ourselves and our country down. We’ve still got a few boys from that team and I think it’s a motivation for us this time round.

The second of the two warm up games against England takes place at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium on August 13.
See www.wru.co.uk for more info.

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