'I'm never going to be the finished article...' - Jonathan Davies on injuries, Cubby Tours and how Wales can win the World Cup
Jonathan Davies isn’t prone to headline-grabbing outbursts. He doesn’t covet the limelight. Indeed, the scrum cap he habitually wears gives him a cloak of anonymity that suits him. He shuns red carpets when, ironically, his standing in the game could routinely see his name in lights.
Unlike his fellow West Walian great in midfield, the incomparable Ray Gravell, Davies chooses to keep his innermost thoughts to himself in times of emotional duress.
One such occasion came in May 2015 when he lay prone, grimacing after taking a blow to the knee in the act of scoring a try in the match between Clermont and Montpellier. He had an inkling what was coming after suffering the same anterior cruciate ligament injury at 18.
When an ACL injury was confirmed, he was sanguine, even though he knew his road to return would be tortuous. Of course, his immediate reaction must have rhymed with ‘clucking bell’ but he resigned himself to missing the 2015 World Cup and nearly the entirety of the 2015/16 season. Japan in 2019 was a minuscule crumb of comfort to aspire to.
Four years on, still fresh-faced with the gravelly voice of a V8 engine, Davies admitted on the cusp of the tournament in the Far East that lacing up his boots for a second World Cup has been an ambition since those dark days of rehabbing in the Massif Central.
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“Having had the great experience of 2011, when I was a kid in Test terms, missing the 2015 World Cup was painful,” he told RugbyPass. “To see the boys doing so well to get out of the group and not being a part of it was really tough. I’m 31 now, so this World Cup was always the goal. It’s been at the back of my mind so to be finally here is gratifying.”
In advance of the 2017 Lions series, he evaded pointed questions over his designs on the No 13 Test jersey. But ahead of next Monday’s finals encounter with Georgia, he’s emboldened. His rhetoric has become more assertive. In New Zealand for his first World Cup, Davies – then 23 – had ushered in a new era along with George North, Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton and Leigh Halfpenny, giving Wales a youthful sheen. He scored against Namibia, Fiji and most importantly Ireland in the quarter-finals.
This time out, it feels different. Wales are not the plucky underdogs. They are longer-in-the-tooth. Battle-hardened in thought and deed. “In 2011 we almost shocked ourselves. We knew we were in great shape but we probably didn’t expect to play that well.
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Thank you to Richard and everyone @worldofgroggs for this special grogg??
“This time round we have developed and confidence built in the last 18 months. We put together that 14-game winning streak, a Grand Slam and key wins over southern hemisphere teams. It has put us in a place that if we go into tight games, we know we can pull it out of the bag.”
For the 2019 vintage, Foxy – famously named after the Fox and Hounds pub his parents own in Bancyfelin – will no longer be the cub as younger brother James has also picked to add pace and guile to the Wales back row.
Davies gives a knowing smile. “I don’t think we’ll be on Cubby Tours this time. He thinks I’m disappointed he is coming, that it will spoil my party and that my parents will have to support both of us, but I was more nervous than him ahead of the squad announcement.
“He probably thinks I’m going soft but I couldn’t be happier for him. I’m just concerned I’m going to have to look after his kit because he is a messy sod. I just feel sorry for whoever is rooming with him.”
Brotherly love aside, Davies is self-aware enough to acknowledge he is viewed through a different prism to the fresh-faced ingenue of 2011. Aaron Wainwright and Rhys Carre would have just started contemplating shaving when he was scything through the Irish defence in Wellington.
But now that he is a Lions man of the series and double Grand Slam winner, he knows he will be expected to offer nuggets of wisdom for the rollercoaster his team members have embarked on. “If the boys want advice, I’ll tell them to accept they are here for a reason. They’re here because they are good enough.
Wales insist it is business as usual in the post-Rob Howley era https://t.co/56QE0Yn9hW
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“It’s not because people are too old or have moved on, they are the best players in Wales. We’re fortunate that in Warren (Gatland) and the management, they have so much experience of this competition as players and coaches.”
As for players he expects to make a big impression, a fellow West Walian get his seal of approval. “If you were to push me for a name, I’d say Josh Adams. A lot of people know about him already from his exploits, but he has the ability to go to the next level.”
Davies himself is in fine fettle. It does not look like Father Time is wrapping his knuckles on the table waiting for him to pack it in. His lean, muscular torso during summer training drew envy-inducing glances from both sexes, only for his brother to quip that he should ‘eat some carbs’.
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Great thing to hear in the lead up to opening weekend ? !#WalesRugby #RugbyWorldCup
But beyond the superficial observation, there is a serious point – there is plenty more rugby left in Davies and a third Lions tour, form permitting, should not be beyond him. After another nine-month lay-off after a horrific foot-injury in November 2017 against Australia, Davies feels the enforced break has possibly extended his career.
“Inadvertently, the foot injury has probably helped the body heal. The time away, the ability to rest up and get myself in shape was, in retrospect, a blessing.”
With Wales now encountering Japan’s stifling humidity, Davies says his body was pushed to the limit with the arduous training camps in Switzerland and Turkey. Framed as short-term pain for long-term gain, they had a buy-in from the entire squad.
The 2019 @rugbyworldcup is about to start on Friday and @alexshawsport power ranks all the 20 teams https://t.co/QK0oiz4juU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 19, 2019
“Usually in the first game of the pre-season you’re bricking it, worrying if you are going to make it to half-time, but against England, despite getting caught cold, we felt like we were getting stronger and stronger and it showed the following week. All the hard work from the conditioning staff has put us in a good space.”
Davies’ skillset is well-documented. His highlights reel shows the signature hammer-fend on the likes of Cian Healy, Johnny Sexton and Seta Tamanivalu. Defensive reads see him wrapping Jordie Barrett and driving him backwards, and his perfect tracking line on Ngani Laumape for 70 metres before ensnaring him to avoid giving away a try in the third Lions Test was series defining. He also always has his cultured left boot to see Wales out of trouble. It begs the question, where can he improve after 76 caps?
“For me personally, I’m never going to be the finished article. What makes you a top-level player is the hard graft to constantly keep improving. It’s constantly trying to hone little parts of my game, whether it’s my defensive work or my running lines.”
As for as the one-percenters Davies will need if Wales are to progress into the knockout stages, he says improving communication is paramount. “As I have developed as a 13, I have concentrated on being an extra set of eyes for the 10, feeding information back in-game. I have more time than him to scan so I need to help them dictate and pull strings because he is the most important player on the pitch.”
Wales have long traded on the collective and made themselves an obdurate team to breakdown. They aren’t prone to the final-quarter capitulations that dogged their pre-Gatland years. Davies says they function on a simple principle.
“Work ethic has been a mantra of this management and squad. You won’t be here for a long time if you don’t have that. You know when you come into camp you’re going to work hard and you’re going to be flogged, but the reward hopefully comes in tournaments like this. There’s a saying, ‘if it was easy, everyone would be doing it’, and we stick by that.”
It’s the most bullish Davies has ever sounded. As a player, he doesn’t succumb to hyperbole, so you have to surmise Wales have deep-seated belief which bodes well. “Across the board, the competition for places has put us in a position to go far. We can go into this World Cup and win it.”
If Davies’ dreams transpire, a nation of three million will be chiming ‘clucking bell’, or words to that effect, in unison. Stranger things have happened.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Did footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to comments