Wales are just two victories away from securing head coach Warren Gatland his second RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam. Italy are firm underdogs for tomorrow’s clash at the Millennium Stadium. If Wales win, as expected, only France stand in the way as Wales aim to be crowned European champions again after claiming the holy grail in 2005 (under Mike Ruddock) and 2008.
“The squad is pretty grounded,” admitted Davies. ”We all know there is a lot of expectation on us, but I think we can handle that. There is a good feeling within the squad and we know what is expected on the field. We are all working hard and doing our jobs, and we are not going away from that.
”The competition within the squad is fierce at the moment, and it is making training that much more intense. We are working at such a high level now in training.”
”We have got to make sure we keep the ball and are patient with it, not to expect things to happen straight away,” said Davies, ahead of the Italy encounter.
”I think people might expect things to happen instantly with the back-line we have got, but we’ve got to make sure we build and not force the issue.
”We expect an extremely tough game, because it always is, but we have got to make sure we keep the ball in play and keep a high tempo and work the Italians. Hopefully, that will bear fruit in the last 20 minutes or so.
”We expect to be in a tough fight. We need to keep in that arm wrestle and make sure we power through and take our chances when they come.”
Davies earlier this week gave Welsh rugby a shot in the arm when he re-signed with the Scarlets. He declined interest from the Aviva Premiership to sign on the dotted line for the Parc y Scarlets outit.
”There was a period where it was a tough decision. For a few weeks, it was chopping and changing quite a lot,” admitted Davies.
”It was a difficult period because it was always on your mind. You want to get it sorted. People are asking you about it all the time. You just want to keep your head down and make sure you make the right decision. I spoke to my family and had a meeting with the coaches in Llanelli and some other people as well.
”It went really well, it cleared my mind and put me in the right spot, really. I am at the stage of my career where I haven’t developed yet. Other boys who are leaving are probably more experienced and have more rugby under their belt.
”I think it was key for my development to stay in Wales and make sure I keep working hard and cementing my spot in the team.
”The best place to do that is the Scarlets because of the exciting back-line there. I am glad it is sorted, and I am really happy that I’ve been able to stay and be involved with the Scarlets for the next two years.”
Wales: L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), G North (Scarlets); R Priestland (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues, capt), M Rees (Scarlets), A Jones (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), I Evans (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons)
Replacements: K Owens (Scarlets), P James (Ospreys) L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Jones (Ospreys), R Webb (Ospreys), J Hook (Perpignan), S Williams (Scarlets)
Italy: Andrea Masi (Aironi); Luke McLean (Treviso), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont), Alberto Sgarbi (Treviso), Mirco Bergamasco (Racing Metro); Kris Burton (Treviso), Fabio Semenzato (Treviso); Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais, capt), Simone Favaro (Aironi), Alessandro Zanni (Treviso); Cornelius van Zyl (Treviso), Quintin Geldenhuys (Aironi); Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso), Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing Metro/FRA)
Replacements: Tommaso D’Apice (Aironi), Fabio Staibano (Aironi), Marco Bortolami (Aironi), Robert Barbieri (Treviso), Tobias Botes (Treviso), Tommaso Benvenuti (Treviso), Giulio Toniolatti (Aironi)
