Should I have focused on one position? I don't know

Paul Rees looks back at Mathew Tait's career and finds out how he - and his family - are now living and working in Dubai

- Paul Rees

Twenty years on from his Test debut in Cardiff as an 18-year old, Mathew Tait watched yesterday's match between Wales and England stretched out on the sofa in his Dubai residence and not hankering for a return to his playing days.

Tait, whose 15-year senior career took in stints with Newcastle, Sale and Leicester, as well as 38 England caps, has been in the Middle East since the end of 2022 where he works as the general manager and festival director of the Emirates Dubai Sevens and the Sevens Stadium, overseeing the biggest sport and entertainment festival in the region.

He politely turned down requests last week for interviews about his first Test appearance on the opening weekend of the 2005 Six Nations, the day before his 19th birthday, when he was replaced after being lifted in a tackle by Gavin Henson and carried in one arm.

Henson was to win the match with a late long-range penalty and the image of Tait being caught in his tackle has endured, the reason for interview requests to mark the 20th anniversary, even if he went on to more than amply justify that selection. "Wales are now where they were then," he said. "They became very successful under Warren Gatland but the tide went out and they found themselves caught with their trunks down.

"I had requests for interviews, some with Gavin Henson, but said no as there was nothing new to say after all this time. I do not miss playing, or training, after a long career, just the camaraderie and friendship side of it: it was like an extension of school, except you had a bit more money, but by the end my body was not capable of fulfilling what my mind wanted to do."