Q. Welcome to Gloucester. Having spent all your career at Cardiff to date, it must seem odd reporting for preseason at a new location?
"It is but it's a good thing. It's a new training ground, new team mates, new coaches and a new way of doing things."
"But I'm ready for that and I'm looking forward to it. I feel a bit like the new kid at school but they're a good bunch of lads."
Q. It's obviously early days but how are you settling in?
"I'm glad it's started and I've got the first day over with. I've met all the boys and I've got to learn a few names and faces but I'm getting my bearings and now I can crack on with some hard work."
"I have learned one important lesson though which isn't to follow Olly Morgan when you don't know where you're going because I ended up being late for training and I don't think he'll be paying my fine for me!"
Q. It's only a few weeks since you were playing for Wales over in the States. Have you managed to rest up and recharge your batteries?
"Yeah, I've been quite lucky and had about four weeks off since I came back from tour which has been just enough time to squeeze in a quick holiday and move up here and settle down."
"I think because it's a new start for me in a new environment and living in a new area, I feel quite refreshed anyway."
Q. Are you one of those players who enjoys preseason training or is it one of those things that has to be done before you can start playing the games?
(Laughs) "I'm not sure that there are too many people who actually enjoy it! I don't hate it but I'd be lying if I said I thought it was fun."
"You always kind of dread it before you start but, once you get into it, it's not too bad. Once you get the first week of soreness and stiffness out of the system, it tends to fly by."
"It's actually quite short for us with our first league game being in early September. So, it's an eight week block and there are preseason games to play as well."
"But I've been around long enough now to know what preseason entails and know what I have to get done. It's a bit of pain and a lot of hard work but it'll pay off when the season gets underway."
Q. The friendlies look quite interesting with a West Country derby and familiar opponents for you in the Ospreys?
"You say they're friendlies but, as a Gloucester player, I'm not sure there are too many friendlies with Bath! And, of course, the league draw has given us Bath to kick off the Guinness Premiership season so it's a big few weeks and I'm sure everyone is lookng forward to it."
Q. Following yesterday's announcement about the Anglo Welsh tournament, you may well be coming up against your former team mates sooner than you may have expected?
"We avoided them in the Heineken Cup so I suppose the odds were that we'd draw them in the Anglo Welsh. I texted one of the Cardiff boys yesterday and there's been a bit of banter back and forth already!"
"I'm sure there are a lot of the Gloucester boys who were on the wrong end of the scoreline last year who will have a point to prove."
"They were obviously great games from a Cardiff perspective, especially the one at the Millennium Stadium which really kicked off our season."
"But they were all really tough games and I know that we felt we had to lift our game to take on a top English side as most Welsh sides tend to do."
Q. Some would argue that you're at your peak as a player. What was it that tempted you to move from Cardiff at this point in your career? And why Gloucester?
"I knew it was time for me to find a new environment, to experience playing in a new league and I always wanted to play in the Guinness Premiership."
"I obviously enjoyed my time in the Magners League with the Blues but, when the opportunity arose to come to a big club like Gloucester at this point in my career, I felt it was something that I couldn't afford to turn down."
"Cardiff went well last year, the best for a long time, but I still felt inside that I needed a change in environment to bring me along as a player and as a person."
"When Gloucester came in, a fantastic club with great support and high ambitions, I felt it was something that I'd like to experience."
Q. Are you expecting much difference between the Guinness Premiership and the Magners League?
"To be honest, I don't really know at the moment. I've played against a lot of English teams over the past few years in Europe and in the EDF Energy Cup. But it's going to be different to experience that intensity week in and week out."
"That's one of the reasons I wanted to come here, to play those big games every week. It's obviously going to be a challenge for me in that sense, to perform at a high level each week if I'm selected."
"But it's something I want to experience. I didn't want to go through my career without knowing what it was like to play over here."
"I spoke to some of the Welsh boys who have moved over and they've really enjoyed the intensity and everything that comes with it and it's something I'm really looking forward to getting started."
Q. You've played at Kingsholm as a visitor, you must be looking forward to running out there this season as a home player?
"Of course. I'm not taking anything for granted but I hope I'm going to be involved in that massive opener against Bath and that it's a full house."
"Playing at Kingsholm has been a great experience and I'm very quickly going to learn what a West Country derby is all about and I'm hoping the Shed really turn it up that day!"
Q. What are your hopes and expectations for 2009-10?
"Personally, it's to work hard and keep improving and do my very best for my new club. Obviously last year finished disappointingly for Gloucester and there's a real determination in the squad to improve on that."
"But I think if we can enjoy our rugby this season then we'll be successful."
Q. Finally, did you see any of the Lions tour? You must have been pretty proud of the contributions made by some of your Wales team mates?
"To be honest, I only saw a couple of Tests due to being away on tour and then moving house and being on holiday."
"But I did hear that the man with the biggest jaw in rugby, Jamie Roberts, made quite an impression and was pretty surprised to see Mike Phillips popping up in the centre. They're both great players and put in some fine performances."
"They were so unlucky not to claim a series victory but I'm sure they had a great experience out there."
