The 31-year-old scrum-half was stunned to be recalled by Warren Gatland for his autumn squad, a decade after his last call-up and while he insisted he had never “given up” on playing international rugby again, he had begun to lose belief it would happen.

He told Rugby World magazine: “I never gave up on [a Wales recall] but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t gone through my head that my time was gone after all these years.

“It’s just human nature to bout it as such.”

And while Rhodri’s wife Jamie had seen him in action for Wales before, he admitted it was a “special moment” to turn out for his country in front of their two young daughters.

He said “For the first game [against Australia], the girls were both there and then the second it was just the eldest Sienna, who is three and really loved it.

“It was surreal to have her on the field with me afterwards. I never thought that would happen. A special moment.”

The Dragons player believes he had “narrowly” missed out on his Wales comeback a few times over the last few years.

He said: “I missed out on a few squads quite narrowly. I was involved in the summer of 2021 and then I injured my shoulder on the first day of camp, which was quite tough to take.

“I remember driving home from that day thinking, ‘That’s probably it now. That’s my last chance.’

“I was involved as cover for the last game of the Six Nations in 2022 but that was just short term. You try and be as resilient as possible.

“There have been some quality nines but you just try to keep your own house in order at your club.”