Matthew Rees

Matthew Rees

Rees in 2012
Full name	Matthew Rees
Date of birth	(1980-12-09) 9 December 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth	Tonyrefail, Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	17 st 2 lb (240 lb; 109 kg)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Youth career Tonyrefail RFC Merthyr RFC Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2003 Pontypridd RFC 34 (?) 2003–2004 Celtic Warriors () 2004–2013 Scarlets 182 (25) 2005–2006 Carmarthen Quins RFC 1 (0) 2013–2019 Cardiff Blues () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2005–2014 Wales 60 (10) 2009 British & Irish Lions 8 (0) 2013 Barbarians 1 (0)

Matthew Rees (born 9 December 1980)^[1] is a Welsh former professional rugby union footballer who played as a hooker. After beginning his career with Tonyrefail RFC and Merthyr RFC, he made his professional debut for Pontypridd RFC in 2001. With the arrival of regional rugby in Wales in 2003, he joined the Celtic Warriors, but their closure a year later led to him signing for the Llanelli Scarlets. He played more than 180 matches for the Scarlets, captaining them on several occasions, leading to his first Wales call-up in 2005.

He became Wales' first-choice hooker for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and played in all five matches as Wales won the Grand Slam in the 2008 Six Nations Championship. In 2009, Rees was selected for the British & Irish Lions' tour of South Africa, playing in all three tests. He missed the 2011 Rugby World Cup due to a neck injury, but returned to the team to play twice in another Grand Slam-winning campaign in the 2012 Six Nations Championship. In 2013, Rees joined the Cardiff Blues, but a diagnosis of testicular cancer in October 2013 ruled him out of action for almost six months. He made his last appearance for Wales on a tour to South Africa in 2014; his 60 caps made him Wales' most-capped hooker until Ken Owens overtook him in 2019. In February 2019, Rees announced that he would be retiring from rugby at the end of the 2018–19 season.