Scarlets bid fond farewell to Matthew Rees

Former Scarlets captain Matthew Rees will leave the region at the end of this season moving to the Cardiff Blues as he presents himself with a fresh new challenge after nine years commitment to rugby in West Wales.

The experienced 32 year-old hooker from Tonyrefail and star of Wales and the British Lions has appeared in Scarlets colours an impressive 175 times. He joined the region in the 2004/05 season.

He has achieved 57 caps for Wales and was as part of the front row for three Tests for the British and Irish Lions against South Africa in June 2009. Rees was previously with Treorchy, Pontypridd and the former Celtic Warriors. He has led Wales eight times – the first in November 2010 against Australia. He was named Wales’ 128th captain.

His natural leadership skills, hard-edge and mental toughness also landed Rees the captaincy of the Scarlets for two seasons in 2010/11 and 2011/12 where he set out to create a strong record at Parc y Scarlets.

Head Coach Simon Easterby said Rees had won the respect and admiration of players and supporters alike across the rugby community in West Wales.

Simon Easterby said: “Matthew has contributed a great deal to the region during his years with us; he has set high standards, made a mark for others to aspire to and been a strong mentor for a number of our younger forwards in recent years pushing their development forward.

“We respect Matthew’s reasons for moving to a new region and wish him all the very best with the Cardiff Blues.

“He leaves with our sincere thanks, gratitude as a region and respect for all he has done and achieved in a Scarlets shirt. He has been a key part of our team, has been a true Scarlet in terms of his commitment and imparted experience, knowledge and influence on this team as it developed over the past three or four years – as one of our most senior players.

“He moves on having set a standard which others now aspire to and helped nurture many of up and coming talent forwards in the squad today.”

Matthew Rees said: “I’m grateful to all my Scarlets colleagues, coaches and supporters for their backing over the years and I leave at the end of this season with great memories.

“There’s a number of talented young forwards coming up through our Scarlets ranks now who will take their opportunities and are already progressing well.

“It’s also positive to see so many Scarlets selected for international honours, both at senior, U20’s and U18s and says a lot about how much this region does to develop international quality players.

“I’m proud of all that has been achieved during my time at the Scarlets and it was a huge honour to captain the team for two seasons.

“There’s plenty in our squad and all to play for this season in the league. I’ll give my all to the Scarlets campaign as we target a play-off place in the PRO12 after such a strong start this season.”

Rees said he has taken great pride in what he has achieved at the Scarlets during close to a decade of service and will want to draw a close to his distinguished career at Parc y Scarlets on a high.

He said: “We’ve had some great highs during that time in Europe and the Celtic league and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had with the Scarlets as my career has progressed from region to country to the British Lions. I just hope I’ve been able to pass on some of my experience to players that will be of benefit in the future and my involvement has helped accelerate the transition of this squad in recent years.

“There is a strong team spirit, work ethic and energy at Parc y Scarlets and while there’s been some disappointment in recent weeks, it’s an experience that will only make the group learn more about itself and make it much stronger as a result.”