Gary Rees

Former International Rugby Player Gary Rees is best known as the one club man, playing his whole career with Nottingham Rugby Club.

Not only did Gary spend 18 years playing at Nottingham, which equates to over 400 games, he also spent 17 years at the same club, after his playing career ended, as a coach and mentor.

Gary played over 20 games as part of the Midlands Divisional Rugby, including beating the All Blacks at Welford Road in 1983. He also played 18 Barbarian games which included 3 internationals with Australia, All Blacks and Argentina.

Internationally, Gary was selected for the Rugby World Cups in 1987 and 1991, and throughout his career he gained 23 England caps.

Gary holds two records from the days of replacements not substitutes;

• The longest time on the pitch without starting – Wales v Eng 1989 – replacing Mike Teague (who was knocked out) from the kick off.
• The longest time on the pitch without finishing – Fiji v Eng – Gary was knocked out with 10 seconds to go on the clock.

Gary has also been named by Dean Richards as one of the 3 hardest men in rugby!

Testimonials

“Gary Rees spoke at our Sportsaid lunch in Northampton. He is a passionate rugby man through and through and his achievements with England, the Lions, the Barbarians and Nottingham give him both an insight and a wealth of stories from inside the sport. He combines all of that with a perception and understanding of team building, personal motivation and the broader spectrum of interpersonal relationships. A great speaker for a mixed audience we will ask him to speak again at our other events next year. Very much enjoyed by all and pitched just right for the audience….rugby followers or not.”  Roger Fennemore MBE – Sportsaid Regional Director

“We recently had Gary Rees to speak at our annual awards dinner and were delighted with his speech. Gary has a real empathy and understanding of amateur rugby linking stories his playing days to that of the modern era. His delivery was clear and concise and he kept the attention of a rowdy audience throughout. I would thoroughly recommend him for either a sporting or corporate event.” David Arr – Worcester Wanderers