'Not getting selected obviously hurt him... He was pretty despondent'
From international outcast to a pivotal figure in Wales’ World Cup crusade, it has been some re-birth for Gareth Davies.
Dropped from the squad during the latter part of Wayne Pivac’s reign, he found his omission difficult to take after being a fixture in the set-up for some eight years. By his own admission, the Scarlets scrum-half came close to giving up on his Test career.
The way he defended, which was such a big part of his game, just wasn’t to the liking of the Welsh management. He tried to change his ways, but that proved to be the worst mistake he could have made. It wasn’t his game, he didn’t enjoy it and he lost all confidence, going through a tough 18 months or so.
But then two men were to play a key role in reviving his fortunes.
His coach at the Scarlets, Dwayne Peel, helped restore his confidence, encouraging him to focus on just enjoying his game again.
Then there was the return of Warren Gatland as Wales coach. Immediately, Davies had renewed hope. He worked his socks off to get into the best shape of his life and recapture his form of old, re-emerging as a stand-out performer for his region during the second half of last season and earning a recall for his third World Cup.
Out in France, he has proved a key presence, given fresh licence to fly out of the line in defence with his trademark spot blitzes and interceptions. His box kicking and touchline tracers have been vital in providing tactical control and territorial foothold, while his strike running and support play is as effective as ever, as demonstrated by the line he picked off Jac Morgan for his try in the rout of Australia.
That set a new World Cup record for a scrum-half of eight tries. The years have been rolled back and, at 33, the 72-cap Davies is as important to Wales as he’s ever been going into Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Argentina.
What then of the man whose words of advice helped spark the revival? As his club coach and a former Test scrum-half himself, Dwayne Peel is ideally placed to provide an insight into what makes Davies tick.
“I didn’t really know Gareth until I came here two years ago,” says the Scarlets boss.
“What I soon learned is that he’s the ultimate competitor. That’s probably his biggest trait. He wants to fight for everything. You see him in training every day, he wants to be the best. Even if it’s little kick games or playing football, he is so competitive. That’s brilliant and I love to see it.”
However, Peel also became aware that Davies needed support and a lift following his axing by Wales in the latter part of 2022.
“Not getting selected obviously hurt him,” said the former Wales and Lions scrum-half.
“He was pretty despondent for a while.
“I have been there myself when you get left out of international squads.
“It’s never nice, especially when you’ve been one of the mainstays in there. You can dwell on it and get a bit bitter and think about the wrong things.
“You can get bogged down sometimes where you worry about selection, but ultimately selection is out of your control.
“We said it was important he didn’t dwell on it too much and just enjoyed his rugby – then whatever comes from it comes
“That’s what we spoke about, honestly, and for him to relax a bit and not worry too much about it.
“With the conversations we had, I think there was a realization for him that he needed to enjoy the last few years of his career.
“He was at ease with a few things then and played some of his best rugby for us last season. He was outstanding.
“Off the back of that, he’s had the opportunity again with Wales and he’s taken it. I am really pleased for him.”
Someone else who knows Davies well is his long-time team-mate for club and country, Jonathan Davies, who saw at first hand how he was affected by being dropped by Wales.
“I think he took it quite hard initially,” said the Scarlets centre.
“But Gareth is probably one of the most competitive people I have ever met, on and off the field. He will fight you over a decision in a card game!
“Then, on the field, he will compete until he can’t go no more. You have seen how hard he has worked in games in this World Cup.
“I think it’s testament to his character that he has been one of the key players for this Welsh team.
“For me, he hasn’t played better in his career. He has been outstanding and I couldn’t be happier for him because he’s got a great work ethic.
“He is showing everyone by the photos of his physique that he’s worked extremely hard!
“Sometimes when you don’t get picked and you want to be a part of it – if that fragile thing is taken away from you – you work twice as hard to get back into it.”
Two-times Lions Test star Davies added: “Gareth is performing at such a consistently high level right now. He does so much for the team in defence and attack.
“He has become a huge player for Wales and it’s great to see. He is in a real purple patch and he deserves it because it’s down to a lot of hard work.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
3 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
3 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to comments