Davies is his country’s caretaker coach for one match. And what a match to take charge of, against South Africa, the hot favourites for the Rugby World Cup, at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on November 24th.
Davies took charge after Gareth Jenkins left the helm following Wales’s early exit from the Rugby World Cup and says now is the time to move forward and focus on the match with South Africa.
But before talk of the Prince William Cup, Davies addressed some of the comments aimed at him since the Rugby World Cup exit. “We have a massive job to do for Wales; a lot of people feel we have let them down. I don’t feel that’s the case” he said.
“In all our games we were in control for the first 10 minutes; it was the next 20-25 that we lost the plot. Then we got everyone together at half time and re-formed and we played well in the second half of all our games I still believe we’ve done the best job we could have done.”
As for the forthcoming match, Davies said: “We’re here for one game only but it’s a great opportunity for us. We are all very clear about when the new coach comes in. But we all want to do our best for Wales,” he said.
“We need to have a succession plan going forward. We have identified the second and third players in that position so we have a clear view of who we want to pick in the next six weeks.
“We want all our players to be playing in the Heineken Cup. We want players who are able to take on a game plan and maintain it. We need a team with a blend of youth and experience and make sure the players are getting game time.
“I don’t feel any pressure going into this game and I’m quite prepared to experiment in order to win the game and try to move Wales forward.”
Davies admits it was a tough decision to take on Wales’s top job from close pal Gareth Jenkins: “It was a difficult decision because of my relationship with Gareth but this is an opportunity as a group of coaches to show people what we can do.”
The inaugural Prince William Cup match will take place in Cardiff on Saturday November 24th, the only rugby union Test match between two nations to take place in this Rugby World Cup year during the traditional November window.
The Prince William Cup will next be competed for during the two-Test Wales tour to South Africa in June, and again when South Africa return to Cardiff next November for more Test match rugby.
