Wayne Pivac’s side travel to Rome in round four of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations this weekend with a Triple Crown already in the bag after wins over Ireland, Scotland and England.
Next up are the Azzurri with Davies one of two changes to the side made by head coach Pivac from the 40-24, bonus-point success over England.
“Kieran Hardy was outstanding last week against England and was unfortunate to pick up that little hamstring injury,” said Scarlets ace Davies.
“I feel like there’s a bit of pressure on me to perform as well as he did.
“It’s about doing the basics right, managing the game well, playing in the right areas, and bringing as much tempo as possible. It’s good to be back in the starting XV.
“Throughout my whole career there has always been a lot of competition for the scrum-half jersey so I am used to it. I’ve always said it’s healthy as a player.
“It’s only a good thing for the squad to have so much competition. It keeps us all on our toes.”
George North warms up to face Italy
Throughout my whole career there has always been a lot of competition for the scrum-half jersey so I am used to it. I’ve always said it’s healthy as a player
Davies’ Scarlets team-mate Hardy started against England and scored a fine try after taking a quick tap penalty.
Unfortunately, his Six Nations participation was ended by a hamstring injury.
It means Davies starts against Italy with Lloyd Williams on the bench. Tomos Williams is not yet fit to return to the field after suffering a hamstring injury of his own against Ireland.
In his 13 capped Tests as head coach so far, Pivac has handed his scrum-halves plenty of chances to impress.
Davies and Tomos Williams have had four starts apiece.
Hardy has had three.
Lloyd Williams and Rhys Webb have had one each.
Kieran Hardy of Wales takes a quick penalty to go on to score a try against England
“Italy play some good rugby and they have got some great individual talent in their back-line. They do look dangerous so our defensive roles are going to have to be spot on,” said Davies.
“The team Wayne has picked for this week shows them a lot of respect. We have broken the record for the amount of caps we have named.
“It won’t be an easy challenge. I am sure it will be a tough game for us, but hopefully one we can come out on top of.”
Davies continued: “The weather will be quite nice. We haven’t had that temperature over here for a while. I can’t remember the last time I played in a dry game with the sun shining.
“So we are looking forward to that and hopefully it will give us a chance to play a bit of rugby, chuck the ball around, and hopefully score some tries.”
Italy play some good rugby and they have got some great individual talent in their back-line. They do look dangerous so our defensive roles are going to have to be spot on
