Phil Davies - Rugby Career

Rugby Career

Davies played his club rugby for Llanelli and enjoyed a distinguished 46 cap career for Wales between 1985 and 1995. It was during this period that Welsh packs became far less dominant than in the glory days of the 1970s and Davies, along with the likes of David Pickering and Bob Norster, was one of the few class forwards that his side could muster.

The mustachioed Davies was a useful addition to the side mostly because of his offensive ability and the fact that he could play either as flanker, number eight or lock forward.

His career is also memorable for his involvement in the so called "Battle of Cardiff" in 1987, an extremely violent clash between Wales and England that saw Davies wind up on the wrong end of lock Wade Dooley's fist. Davies' first international appearance came in a 24–15 victory over England in Cardiff, a game that saw his brother-in-law, Jonathan Davies, also make his debut. England, who had not won in Cardiff since 1963, led the game 15–12, before fullback Chris Martin failed to take a high kick and Davies (Jonathan) scored a crucial try. Davies' next appearance came in a 40–3 victory against Fiji at the Arms Park, and he marked the occasion by scoring two of his side's seven tries.

The following year Davies played in seven tests in total, but was denied a possible Triple Crown when his side were beaten 21–18 by England in the first match of the campaign. Wales recovered to beat Scotland and Ireland before losing to France. Davies and his teammates then embarked on a short tour of the Southern Hemisphere as part of the side's preparation for the 1987 Rugby World Cup and included victories over Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. The games against Fiji and Samoa passed with relatively little incident, but the Tonga test was notable for its violence and both Davies and Adrian Hadley found themselves on the receiving end of opposition fists, not for the last time in Davies' case.

Davies was director of rugby at Leeds Tykes from 1996 to 2006 before resigning his post. Davies said at the time: "I have no immediate plans to go elsewhere, rather I just feel it's time to take a break. I want to make it clear this mutual decision has nothing to do with the current situation at Leeds. It is after much soul searching and discussion with my family and Leeds Tykes that I have decided to resign my post."

Davies added: "The last 10 years has been an amazing journey with a fantastic group of people, helping to take the club from National League Three to Heineken Cup rugby and winning the Powergen Cup last season. I will have some time out with my family and reflect upon my career and future, after a decade at this wonderful club."

In May 2012 Davies joined Cardif Blues as Director of Rugby.