Door is still open, says Davies after Pivac chat
JONATHAN Davies has revealed that Wales head coach Wayne Pivac hasn’t “slammed the door shut” on his Wales career yet, and told the Scarlets skipper to prepare for a big year.
Foxy, as he is widely known, missed out on the summer’s tour of South Africa which saw Wales fall to a 2-1 series defeat despite putting in some valiant performances against the home side.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Davies chatted to James Haskell, Mike Tindall, Alex Payne and Ben Kayser, lifting the lid on his chat with Pivac.
“I still feel I’m competitive, I want to be competitive. I’m obviously gutted not to go on tour,” he explained.
“I had a conversation with Wayne about it, I think he knew how I felt – I still think I can play international rugby.
“For me, I just have to take care of my own form with the Scarlets.
“If I play well enough and they want me to play, I’ll play.
“It was the first summer without touring or injury since 2009 so I’ve had a really good break.
“I’ve just got an appreciation of how lucky I am.
“For me, I’ll enjoy however long I’ve got left and give it the best shot I can.
“He gave me his reasons, he said ‘look, have the summer and get yourself ready for a big year’.
“It wasn’t like slamming the door shut. I appreciated that and hopefully I can come knocking.”
Davies faces fierce competition if he is to earn a spot in the Wales squad for the forthcoming autumn internationals.
Regional team-mate Johnny Williams is expected to be included if fit, while Owen Watkin, George North and the highly-rated Joe Hawkins could all feature.
Nick Tompkins, Willis Halaholo, Max Llewellyn and Mason Grady are also contenders.