dale mcintosh was still at the forefront of his game when rugby union in wales became a professional sport in the late 1990s. he was awarded his club captaincy in 2001. however, the changes in welsh rugby to a regional structure in 2003 came somewhat too late for mcintosh: the strength of the celtic warriors' back row squad meant that he would have had to move to another region to gain a contract. instead, he chose to stay in pontypridd and help develop the next generation of regional players.