Rees - who missed the World Cup with a neck injury - and his Scarlets teammates needed a late Stephen Jones penalty to rescue some pride against their local rivals at the Liberty Stadium.
Nine points from the boot of Dan Biggar looked to have won it for the home side until Jones' 78th-minute effort bagged the Scarlets a share of the spoils.
And while Rees - who re-iterated his desire to be back in the Wales squad for their friendly against Australia next month - was pleased to be back in action it was a case of mixed emotions post match.
"The neck is fine," said Rees. "My shoulder was a bit sore but it was just nice to be back playing really and I am looking forward to playing again next week.
"The result was disappointing really. We missed some kicks at goal which would have won it for us. We spoke about what a big game it was for the pack all week and the scrum went well for us.
"I am only 30 and still have a lot I want to achieve in the game and this injury I have had has probably added a couple more year to my career.
"I still want to captain Wales, there is another Lions tour and another World Cup and I want to win things with the Scarlets."
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