The matchday vibe in Bath was awesome

I DIDN’T play rugby until I was 16, I was swimmer for most of my childhood in Pembrokeshire and I played cricket but athletics was the big one for me – I threw the discus.

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I only got into rugby mainly because all my mates were playing. When I was 15/16, my PE teacher said to me, ‘you’re tall, go for county trials’.

I was no good but I was the tallest one there, so they pulled me in and I enjoyed it, the social aspect especially. But I never thought it would lead to where it did. It opened many doors and enabled me to travel the world.

I ended up being the second Welshman after Shane Williams to play in Japan, the second Welshman after Gareth Delve to play in Super Rugby with the Melbourne Rebels in Australia, and I was at Bath for four years, and that’s a special place to call home.

There were a few sketchy moments at the beginning of my career but I managed to turn it around. I had some awesome coaches, some who were really hash and brutal, and some who would bring you in on the journey with you in different ways.

But my first pro rugby coach could have been my last. I was having a conversation with my wife the other night, when Simone Biles was on the telly, about having a mental freeze and how at one point I felt as though my rugby career might be over before it had properly even began.

When I was 19 I got picked to start the first game of the season for the Scarlets against the Dragons and I didn’t have a great first half but it wasn’t terrible. However, Phil Davies took me off at half-time and never spoke to me again for the remainder of his time there.

As a youngster still feeling his way in the game, I found that really tough. He was let go halfway through the season, and that is terrible, I wouldn’t wish for anyone to lose their job, but if that hadn’t have happened I probably would never have been a professional rugby player to be honest.