SCARLETS’ POP AT WALES OVER CUBBY BOI SNUB

SCARLETS coach Wayne Pivac has taken a veiled swipe at the Wales management for continually ignoring flanker James Davies. The Olympic Sevens silver medal winner was man of the match as the Scarlets recorded the result of the season to beat Leinster 27-15 in their Guinness PRO12 semi-final.

It was yet another performance that made Davies’ continual failure to make Wales squads hard to fathom, not least his non-inclusion in Robin McBryde’s party for next month’s Tests against Tonga and Samoa.

With Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric away with the Lions, Wales have opted to go with Blues duo Ellis Jenkins and Josh Navidi, Ollie Griffiths of the Dragons and Thomas Young of Wasps.

There was a clamour of support backing uncapped Davies from Welsh fans on social media in the wake of the Scarkets’ triumph, which was one of the greatest victories in regional rugby history.

Asked if Davies’ display at the Royal Dublin Showground made a mock- ery of his lack of international recognition, Pivac chose his words carefully.

But he indicated his frustration that the consistency of his player’s excellence over a three-year period has not been enough compared to rivals who have impressed in shorter spells.

“I have said from day one he is a fantastic player. I rate him very highly,” said New Zealander Pivac.

“His performances over three seasons, not one or two weeks like some of the other players, have been top drawer. “As a group we support James. “If we had a choice between him and other top opensides in the country we would take James every day.

“I think you saw his worth out there.

“Put him on the wing and he doesn’t flinch, he just goes out there and does a job.

“His positioning and reading of the play is fantastic. He has a great skillset.

“We had to dig deep and he was one who did that.”

Scarlets reaction: Sport on Sunday