St David's Day, and an appropriate occasion to encounter James Hook, the Wales wunderkind and fly half compared already by Steve Hansen, his former head coach, to Dan Carter, the All Black No10. The venue is a smart boutique hotel in Central London, not a daffodil in sight but where Hook sinks back into a large sofa and toys with what he thought was beans on three pieces of toast but which turns out to be fried bread.

The plate is soon pushed to one side. He looks comfortable and relaxed, which becomes a recurring theme.

He is comfortable to be talked about in the same breath as Carter and not feel abashed, comfortable to be photographed by Mary McCartney, his honed physique revealed to perfection, confident, too, to reveal he admires Jordan, the model whose bestselling autobiography he had just read, for the way she gets on with life and does her own thing despite what people think of her.

He is comfortable, also, in the limelight dealing with the ongoing debate in Wales - “Stephen [Jones] or James at outside half?” As he says, he has known little else since arriving on the scene like a bolt out of the blue two years ago, so he just accepts it.

So what does it mean to be Welsh? “Everything,” Hook, 22, says in a moment of calm with a weekend off before all hell breaks loose in Dublin on Saturday against Ireland at Croke Park, where a triple crown is at stake for Wales en route to a possible grand slam. “But when you play for Wales at rugby it means an awful lot more. When you play in front of 70,000 passionate supporters, carry their hopes and dreams, it is a pleasure, an honour, to wear the three feathers.”

He has done so on 23 occasions, having started in the wins against England, against whom he was inspirational, and then Scotland, when he made way for Jones, who was then chosen by Warren Gatland against Italy. He does not know if he will regain his place against Ireland and does not buy into Gatland's statement that those who played the first two RBS Six Nations Championship matches are his No1 picks. “Stephen played superbly, I don't know what's going to happen,” is Hook's assessment.

That is the way Gatland wants it. Much has been made of the impact the New Zealander has had in a short time in challenging individuals and, in the head coach's words, trying to break them physically and mentally, to push them to the limit to see how they respond. Has he done it to Hook? “I am unbreakable,” he says, with not a hint of arrogance. “You have to think like that. I have bounced back from being dropped, from missing important kicks, from other setbacks, and used it to become stronger and more determined. Anything that has been thrown at me I can cope with. Rugby is my life, so I won't let anything get in the way of that.”

Hook has nothing but respect for Gatland, whom he praises for introducing shorter, sharper, more focused training sessions, none of which has lasted more than 45 minutes. “They are more physical and demanding - but get it right in ten minutes and we finish,” Hook says. “In the past we would stay out for an hour and a half for the sake of it.”

Given his poise and maturity on the field, it is startling to discover that he did not play fly half until he was 16. Until then he had been a scrum half, but when a player failed to turn up at Neath College, he stepped in. He immediately felt comfortable. It suits his personality, a position where he can express himself.

“You have to have some structure, but when I am at my best is when the game breaks up and it's off the cuff, third and fourth phase, looking at what's in front of you, assessing it, trying things, really.”

Which is what he did superbly against England in the second half. “In the first half, Jonny [Wilkinson] was kicking goals, they were comfortable. Second half, couple of penalties, then a first try. We started believing and when Wales start believing anything can happen. You could see England losing the plot.”

The victory served to further enhance his reputation in Wales, where going out after a match to celebrate can be an ordeal. “It is nice to relax and get away from rugby, but in Wales that's hard,” Hook says. So, no going out on Saturday nights? “Er, no, no. I am not an alcoholic, like, but I like a couple of drinks. It is important to relax. Some boys just go home and go straight to bed. I like going out. You have to keep your cool, though. []Everyone in Wales has an opinion. The women are almost the worst. You have to laugh, really.”

So what about this weekend? “We have momentum,” Hook, who lives with his girlfriend in Neath and has just signed a new four-year contract with the Ospreys, says. “You can't avoid thinking about triple crowns and grand slams, but going to Ireland will be our toughest game of the championship. We haven't won there for eight years. If we can win that, we are at home against France, which will be massive. We are not getting ahead of ourselves, but if we can win at Twickenhem, we can win anywhere.We are not going to fear anyone.”

James Hook is a member of Team RBS Young Guns, helping to promote Sport Relief. For more information on the RBS Six Nations and to make a donation to Sport Relief go to rbs.com/rugby.

Great rivals at No10

Barry John (25 caps: 1966-72) and Phil Bennett (29 caps: 1969-78). Barry or Phil? That was always the question in Wales.

Ollie Campbell (22 caps: 1976-84) and Tony Ward (19 caps: 1978-87). Alternated for Ireland: Ward the occasional magician, Campbell the pragmatist and superb goalkicker.

Rob Andrew (71 caps: 1985-97) and Stuart Barnes (10 caps: 1984-1993). A rivalry that lasts to this day with Barnes's criticism of Jonny Wilkinson, mentored by Andrew at Newcastle.

Craig Chalmers (60 caps: 1989-99) and Gregor Townsend (82 caps: 1993-2003). Melrose against Gala. Neither established real ascendancy.

Carlos Spencer (35 caps: 1997-2004) and Andrew Mehrtens (70 caps: 1995-2004). Spencer could do anything on a rugby field but was prone to flakiness and when it really mattered New Zealand turned to Mehrtens