Davies wants to win his Wales place back

GARETH DAVIES had no arguments at being left out of Wales’ autumn squad, but he is hoping to force his way back into the reckoning for the Six Nations.

The Scarlets No.9 has been a constant in Wayne Pivac’s squads since the Kiwi took the helm in 2019 but now finds himself behind Tomos Williams, Kieran Hardy, and Dane Blacker in the pecking order.

But the experienced scrum-half is hoping his form for the Scarlets over the next month can help him get back on track. “My form was nowhere near enough going into that autumn series,” admitted Davies, below.

“I just need to improve my general form especially with my confidence because I didn’t really have anything in those first few games.

“I have embraced it and been working hard the last couple of weeks. Hopefully this next block of games beenough tween now and the new year I can get a bit of form back, and we will see what happens from there.

“I’ve had time to reflect over these last couple of weeks. I feel like I’ve been training well, and I’ve got a bit of confidence back. “It’s always going to be everyone’s goal isn’t it (the Six Nations) but we’ll see how it goes.

There’s a lot of competition with Kieran and Dane at the Scarlets along with Tomos at Cardiff.

“I’ve just enjoyed the last couple of weeks where I can work hard and get some confidence back.”

At the age of 32 Davies is a senior statesman in the Scarlets squad and is a mentor to a lot of the club’s emerging players. While the likes of Sam Costelow, and Tom Rogers having won their first international caps over the past two years the Scarlets have always been successful in developing future Wales stars.

And Davies believes Wales U20s scrum-half Archie Hughes is a player to watch out for. “He’s really good,” said Davies.

“What I love about him is his work ethic. He works so hard and every training session he’s trying to beat me at everything.

“Every fitness session, and every drill we are doing he’s always up for the challenge. He does remind me a bit about myself when I was younger.

“I love his work ethic and his attitude is great, so I think he’s got a big future ahead of him.”