Jonathan Davies

After competing for his country in both rugby league and rugby union, Jonathan Davies is arguably one of the most instantly recognisable faces in the world of rugby. Jonathan Davies RugbyPass Hall of Fame

Born 24 October 1962, Jonathan Davies was introduced to rugby while still at primary school. Although he was one of the smaller players on the pitch, his attitude and enthusiasm for the sport propelled him through representative teams and, by 1974, he was playing for West Wales U12s.

Following a successful amateur career, he was given a trial by Llanelli but was unsuccessful. Thankfully, he was then asked to trail by Neath in 1982 and was selected to play at fly-half.

After 35 games for Neath, Jonathan Davies was selected to play for Wales. On his debut against England, he scored a try and a drop goal and was named as the Man of the Match.

Following his success, he was then transferred to Llanelli. At this time, he also became a regular for Wales and earned 37 caps, captaining the side on a handful of occasions. However, as he came under increasing pressure from Llanelli and Wales, Jonathan Davies decided to sign for Widnes and switch to rugby league.

The move was incredibly successful for Jonathan Davies and he played more than 200 games of rugby league between 1989 and 1995, including nine appearances for Wales.

However, after the birth of his daughter and his wife’s cancer diagnosis, he returned to rugby union once again in 1995 when he signed for Cardiff. He then represented the side 37 times before he retired in 1997. Sadly, his wife died in the same year.

Since retiring from rugby, Jonathan Davies has worked as a commentator and a pundit in both rugby league and rugby union. He’s also undertaken a great deal of charity work for people with cancer. It’s estimated that he’s raised around £10m for Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre. As a result, he was awarded an OBE in 2015.