Davies: Size has counted against me – but now my face fits
James Davies, the flanker who will win his fourth cap for Wales today, says he has always been driven by his desire to prove the doubters wrong.
The younger brother of Wales and British and Irish Lions centre Jonathan, whom Davies affectionately refers to as “Golden Balls”, it was only after several seasons off the Wales radar with Scarlets, along with a stint playing sevens for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, that the open side’s chance finally came.
“I have been doubted throughout my career because of my size,” Davies explained. “I remember going to university and not getting an academy spot because I was too small, etc..
“I thrive on proving those people wrong; it keeps me going every day. People doubting me spurs me on.
“You could say perhaps when you are not getting selected for the squads that your face might not fit at that time, but you just try to keep knocking on the door. Once I got into the environment I think I changed people’s opinions. I find that once I get the opportunity I take them. I’m just pleased that they have changed their minds and that my face fits now.”
Dogged by a mystery back injury all season, Davies admits that if you had told him two months ago that he would be starting a Test match against England he would have struggled to believe you.
Davies might be able to see the funny side now, revealing that he has been taking his medication “up the hoop”, to the amusement of everyone within earshot. “I do whatever I can to get it right!”
And yet the truth is his recent back injury sounds like agony, not helped by the medical staff ’s struggle to diagnose the cause.
“He’s dug in and pushed himself when he’s been in a lot of pain,” admitted Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach. “He’s had everything done; he’s been scanned, he’s been looked at neurologically; they can’t really find what the issues are.
“[This Test] is a fantastic opportunity for him. We were really impressed with him in Argentina
[where Davies played in both Tests last summer, scoring a try] and he’s pretty fired up because he’s kind of someone who said for his whole career people have knocked him and said he was too small and not able to compete at the highest level.”
Davies will line up against his former Team GB team-mate Ruaridh Mcconnochie today when the Bath wing makes his England debut – “I just remember how impressed I was by him in training. Everything he did was a step above everyone else” – but his focus will be fixed on impressing the Wales coaching staff in the shoot-out for back-row places on the plane to Japan.
Watching from the stands will be Davies’s parents, as their sons become the first brothers to play for Wales since Nicky and Jamie Robinson in 2006.
“I won’t be going up hugging and kissing him beforehand,” Davies admitted with a smile. “For him and I it’s just a game. We’re playing England and it’s about the team. It is just special to play with him for the Scarlets – I am sure it’ll be the same when we play for Wales, and a proud moment for mum and dad.”