Why Davies still has to put in the hard yards
JONATHAN Davies is well versed in rehabilitation.
But it doesn’t get any easier and, in many ways, rehabilitation can extend long beyond a player’s return to the playing field.
Fitness and confidence do not always return at the same time.
Having previously injured the anterior cruciate ligament in each of his knees earlier in his career, then suffering a Lisfranc fracture in his foot in 2017, he was due a run of good fortune.
But it ran out at the Rugby World Cup in 2019, where he sustained another knee ligament injury that kept him out of action until September last year.
At the age of 32, Davies’s return to action has been carefully managed – he was left out of the Scarlets’ New Year’s Day clash with the Dragons and has been used sparingly at regional and international level. It is the correct way to proceed but that does not mean it hasn’t been frustrating.
“As a player, you want to play as much as you can,” he said. “When you have a long period away from the game, you cherish your time on the field even more.
“But you have to make sure that you look after your body. Essentially, it’s your asset.
“My game-time has been a bit staggered since coming back from injury.
“But my work ethic hasn’t changed. I feel like my body is in a good place now and it’s just about getting that confidence back.
“It’s about making sure that I do the simple things well and slowly build my game around that.
“It’s been frustrating for me personally but rugby is challenging at all times. It’s about how I react to it.”
He added: “When you come back from a long-term injury, there are expectations that you will be back to where you were before the injury.
“You have to manage that expectation. When you come back fully fit, you probably still don’t have that 100 per cent confidence in yourself until you get a run of games.
“You’re just testing the water and it’s hard to get over that. I’ve just enjoyed being back on the field.”
After a staccato return to action, the next few months represents a significant period for the seasoned veteran.
He will no longer be afforded breaks. It is time for a run of games and with that, he hopes, will come form.
Revered as one of the best No. 13s in the world, Davies has a huge role to play for region and country, and if he does rediscover his best stuff there is a carrot dangling at the end of the season.
The Lions tour may still be up in the air due to the ongoing coronavirus situation but, for now at least, it lingers.
“I hope so,” he smiled when asked if the forthcoming run of games could see him return to his best.
“If I can string three performances together and get some game time, I’m pretty confident, with the way I feel in training, that I can put in performances to earn my place and victory.
“We’re looking at kicking on in Europe because we’re in a good position.
“I don’t want to be forcing it too hard, too quickly, but it’s about making sure I stick my hand up for the Scarlets because the competition here is good.
“I want to build on that and test myself.
“It’s about knuckling down and doing everything I can to get the performances on the field.”
There is currently much speculation about the fate of the looming Lions series, with one suggestion being that it could be played on home soil, with South Africa travelling to the UK and Ireland.
Other options include delaying the tour to 2022 or scrapping it altogether.
Davies, though, will not concern himself with the debate.
Asked for his preference, the two-time Lions tourist said: “Look, if it happens, then it happens.
“For me, rugby is changing every hour. We don’t know what’s going on in competitions.
“It’s about making sure we adapt. Whatever decision is made is made.
“As players, we’ve just got to concentrate and get on with our main focus.”
Davies teamed up alongside fellow Wales international Johnny Williams in the weekend defeat to Cardiff Blues.
The 24-year-old arrived at the Scarlets in the summer and impressed with a handful of appearances for Wayne Pivac’s Wales over the autumn period.
There is now a school of thought that Williams (circled, below) could be the way forward for Wales at 12, with Davies outside him.
Injuries have conspired against them so far and they have only had one outing in each other’s company prior to last Saturday.
But Davies likes what he sees.
“He’s been excellent. He’s got a huge amount of confidence, he’s very strong with the ball and has a great offloading game,” said the outside centre.
“What’s great about him is that he’s willing to work. He works extremely hard on his individual skills.
“He wants to improve, he wants to play at the highest level. Credit to him, he’s been excellent since he’s come into the Scarlets and I think that’s shown in his performances leading up to the autumn and before he picked up that knock.
“He was growing in confidence and stature.
“Hopefully now, with the Scarlets we can get a partnership going because we haven’t played much together.
“He’s worked hard to get back fit and I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit. n the difference between Wil-o liams and his old centre partner Hadleigh Parkes, Davies said: “They’ve got different accents!
“They’re big, physical men.
“They do the simple things well. “Johnny has probably got less experience than Hadleigh had, but the way Johnny applies himself in the week is like Parkesy. “They’ve got great work ethics and I’m looking forward to playing with him.
“Johnny is exciting, he’s got a bit of X-factor.”
The Scarlets may have lost their clash to the Blues at the weekend, but it was one of the better regional derbies of the Christmas and New Year period.
Some were turgid affairs, sometimes due to inclement weather, but the New Year’s Day clashes saw teams cancel each other out.
They have not ranked particularly highly in the entertainment stakes and Davies admits that players feel the same frustrations as ”fans.
“They’re attritional derbies. They’re an arm wrestle,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about winning.
“Nobody wants to give that up. That’s when the entertainment value maybe comes into it.
“But as rugby players we’re paid to win games and that’s the most important thing.
“We’re trying – and we work hard – to put a brand of rugby on the field that is exciting and entertaining because as players we want to do it.
“But if conditions or anything else prevents you from doing that, you have to make sure you get the result.
“It probably has been frustrating for fans and we share that frustration.
“We don’t practise kicking all week!
“But it’s about making sure, when the time is right, that we execute. We have put pressure on ourselves to make sure that when opportunities come, we execute them.
“It’s something that we’re desperately trying to improve.”