I became the master of playing the straight bat - I would go to bars with the boys, I would always be the one to start a fight, to be outrageous and drink the most. I even went to the extreme of marrying the perfect woman for me.

There are excuses for dropping the ball or missing a tackle. But there are no excuses for not playing with a passion for your team-mates and as long as I get that response and they play well, I'll be happy.

I know that my parents sacrificed a hell of a lot to make sure that my brothers and I would have all that we needed.

Every gay man will tell you that 'coming out' is like a weight lifted from your shoulders and beng able to walk down the street knowing that there is nothing for me to hide has been a liberating experience.

I hate driving.

I'm a sportsman, as good and strong as you, who just happens to be gay.

All I'm concerned about is that I'm with a good squad of players and want us to be competitive and I'm not looking for anything more.

When I got married to my ex-wife, Jemma, I took my vows very, very seriously. I've been brought up with good values and I don't go into anything thinking: this is just for the sake of it - it's not going to last.

If I hadn't had the rugby field to get rid of my aggression I would have been locked up a long time ago.

If you can't give 100% to rugby then you can't do it justice.

You could say I'm the pioneer in the way I have changed some people's perception of not only sports people but of gay men in general. It's also important that people also realise that as much as a pioneer I'm also just a normal person. I'm normal but I've done something that's pretty powerful as well.

I'm terrible for road rage.

I think what I want to learn more than anything... is that, I've got HIV and it's OK, like. That's what I want to learn more than anything.

You tell that to people until you are blue in the face and they struggle to believe it, but I am being totally truthful when I say that all that matters to me is Wales winning.

I am not interested in individual glory.

When I first started at Bridgend, I'd see the amount of work Rob Howley put in on his own after the team had all gone home. He was doing ridiculous amounts. So I started training like him. Always on my own.

It's too easy to forget bad things. By keeping the reminders close, it's the reminder of not just who you are, but how you became what you are.

I want to be a good person.

It has always been my ambition to be captain of Wales over a sustained period of time.

When you cross the whitewash, you only think about the present.

It was a huge honour to be chosen by the Lions and to lead the side, but the greatest of all is to represent your country and win.

There are days when I wake up and do not know who I am any more.

I don't care about the size of the crowd or other people's opinions - I just want us to perform.

It's not about shutting people up or proving them wrong. It's about proving to ourselves what we're about.

In 1999, we went into the World Cup with a string of victories behind us but we could not handle the pressure and ended up letting ourselves down.

The World Cup has not been kind to us overall.

I have always said that leadership is not about one man but a group of experienced players.

In Toulouse, you immersed yourself in the culture of the place.

The rugby team is a massive part of the city and generates a real passion but there is also far more to Toulouse. I learned not only to respect the history of the club but also the area and I soon came to appreciate 'buildings and structures.

Toulouse expanded my game. You were given a freedom to play and express yourself on the field. Toulouse is the biggest club in Europe, rugby's equivalent of Real Madrid. Their game has always been about offloading and running but it is also physical, the complete 'package. It was always exciting, no matter how close a game was.

I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out but, if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it.

My parents, my family and my friends all love me and accept me for who I am and, even if the public are upset by this, I know the love of those people who mean the most to me will never change.

I really want to remain involved in rugby. I want to continue and have an influence on the game.

I feel I am as fit as anybody.

If you could bottle that special feeling you sometimes get in a dressing room just before a match, you'd be a billionaire.

The most famous man in the world has his down days. It's life. But, for me, the rainy moments are isolated moments. I'm always at least half-full. And the rest of the time I'm smiling - all the way up to the brim.

My old man works in the postal service, my mum in a hospital and my brother in a factory. They're my family and when I play rugby I'm representing them. But coming out was different. More than anyone, I feared for my father. I used to be a postman myself and so I know that working environment.

I'm un-self-sufficient. I can't look after myself. I really can't.

When I started doing Twitter, I realised there were so many people following me who were going through the same thing I was going through.

Some people say it's sad living in a hotel, but I'd rather be living in an hotel than living in an house on my own.

I am a rugby player and first and foremost I am a man.

My fear of coming out wasn't about rejection. I was scared people would say: 'Why were you lying to me? If you've been lying about that what else are you lying about?' Lying is my biggest regret.

People say getting fit is 90% diet and 10% exercise, but that's bollocks. If you train hard you earn the right to a chocolate bar.

Other sportsmen have confided in me that they're gay. The advice I give is that coming out is great for you as a person, but that you also have to remember you're a role model. As a sportsman you take the money and the glory, but you also take the responsibility that comes with it and make sure the stories that follow are positive.

I was always driven by the idea that if people ever found out about who I was then the stature I created for myself within rugby would have to be as relevant as the fact I was gay. It was always the driving factor to be the strongest, the fastest, the most skilful.

I was born and raised to play rugby. I have two parents who are hugely proud of my rugby achievements, but even they say that maybe it was just a platform to give me a voice to do something better, and rugby wasn't what I was all about. Something else was.

I don't take any day for granted, I work hard, I'm motivated.

I find it hard to believe that people can be jealous of other people's success.

Someone said on social media that I was the son of Satan for being open about my sexuality. I told my mother, and she laughed and said, 'Well, what the hell does that make me?'

I had a stroke in 2006. I thought: 'This is it.'