I don’t know why people are still talking about the Webb issue, says Davies
GARETH Davies was involved in 11 of Wales’ victories on their historic run of 14 that ended last month, writes Matthew Southcombe.
He started nine of those games, missing only tour matches against South Africa and Argentina, as well as an autumn clash with Tonga.
The 29-year-old has been Wales’ first-choice scrum-half for the last 18 months, whilst dealing with the fact many would rather he wasn’t.
From the day it was announced that Rhys Webb would be ineligible for selection after his move to Toulon, there has been a constant clamour from fans and media alike for the WRU to reverse their decision.
This, despite the fact Davies has a better tries per game ratio and winning percentage for Wales.
When you consult the numbers, the sniping scrum-half really hasn’t had the respect he deserves. In fact, he’s probably had it as rough as any of his team-mates in that regard.
For some, no matter what he does, Webb will always be their preferred choice.
The whole episode re-ignited last week when WRU CEO Martyn Phillips confirmed they would be reviewing the 60-cap policy after the Rugby World Cup.
Webb himself has always projected a c’est la vie attitude towards what is obviously a difficult situation for him to be put in.
Though he has, at times, fanned the flames, insisting during the Six Nations that he was still Wales’ best scrum-half, adding ‘there is no doubt about it’.
So what has the man who currently owns the red No.9 jersey made of it all?
“A few people have told me that he’s been saying a few things in the press,” Davies told the Western Mail.
“He hasn’t been in the squad for a couple of years now, so I don’t really know why people are still going on about it.
“It’s not like we’ve been struggling in the last couple of years. We’ve been on a good run, we won the Grand Slam.
“It doesn’t really affect me at all.” Despite comfortably being the most experienced scrum-half at Warren Gatland’s disposal, Davies refuses to get comfortable in the jersey, with Aled Davies and Tomos Williams, in particular, applying constant pressure.
The Scarlet’s place in the squad is under constant threat, and Williams threatened to move ahead of him in the recent Six Nations before Davies re-established himself.
“You can never be comfortable in this environment, especially with the quality of the nines that we have in the squad,” he insisted.
“You can’t take anything for granted. I’m just happy to be in the 31 and on the way out to Japan next week.”
Regardless of the various views on the treatment of Webb and the WRU’s selection policy, Davies is preparing for his second World Cup, having been named in the final 31-man squad on Sunday.
Four years ago, Davies was, ironically, filling in for Webb who suffered a heartbreaking injury in the final warm-up match before the tournament.
It was a real breakthrough tournament for Davies, who announced himself on the global stage with five tries in five starts throughout the tournament, the most memorable of which came in the famous victory over England.
“It was pretty early on in my international career. I only had a handful of caps going into the start of the World Cup,” said Davies.
“I was thrown into the deep end a little bit, but I like to think that I did alright. Also, as a team, we did pretty well. It was a shame we didn’t get one over on South Africa.
“But I think, personally and collectively, we’re in a better place, we’re a little bit stronger, we’ve got more depth and we’re on a bit of a roll.
“We’re quietly confident, in a good place and we’re looking forward to getting out there.”
Davies added: “We were in a good place as a squad and it’s a shame that run has had to come to an end.
“It has been the start of a new chapter though really, with the World Cup coming up we’re thinking about the bigger picture.
“We were hoping to win all the warm-up matches, but we knew we were changing some things, a few players were going to get opportunities. So we knew that run was going to come to an end at some point, unfortunately.
“There’s a bigger picture and hopefully we’re going to peak at the World Cup, where we can hopefully start a winning streak again.”