“The Hawke’s Bay full-back is probably still looking for him.”
So commented the great JJ Williams a few years ago when reflecting on Gerald Davies’ astonishing performance for the British and Irish Lions against Hawke’s Bay in 1971. One sidestep out wide from the legendary Welsh wing defeated the home No. 15 and a team-mate so comprehensively they ended up sprawled on the floor, like extras from a Keystone Kops movie.
Footage appeared online this week of Davies scoring three of his four tries in the game. The airing of the film on the APSM Rugby Channel happily coincided with the anniversary of the Cardiff player’s Wales debut, which unfolded on December 3, 1966.
To see him play was to witness a remarkable talent at work. Those who were at Pontypool Park on the afternoon of January 14, 1978, were fortunate indeed, with Davies producing a special display even by his standards. Some swear Cardiff won worthwhile ball just four times all game. Whatever, their right wing scored four tries, proving to those who doubted it that genius can conquer all — even Pontypool at their fearsome best.
But his display against Hawke’s Bay was right up there when assessing his greatest performances.
“I was on the bench that day and as he was running in those tries I remember thinking: ‘F*****g hell, he’s good’,” recalls Ray ‘Chico’ Hopkins, Wales and Lions Test scrum-half. You can read more about Chico here.
“He had it all — pace, skill, intelligence and a sidestep that would leave opponents wondering what the hell happened. It was a pleasure to watch him play and be on the same field as him.”
Davies could go outside an opponent or beat him with that jagged step inside. He could swerve or outdo people with raw pace. Clem Thomas called him a consummate running machine.
Rarely can there have been a more graceful player — or one who was more difficult to mark. Opponents didn’t know what his line of attack would be, or which way he would head. The cartoonist Gren once published a drawing of a snowbound National Stadium with footsteps heading in various directions, with the caption: “Gerald been out for a run, has he?”.
But there was always more to Davies than just his ability to mesmerise and bewilder on the field. Off the pitch, he’s someone with old-world manners and will go out of his way to help others. “I don’t know anyone in rugby with a bad word to say about him,” says Hopkins.
“You never hear him bragging and he’s never slow to thank someone if they’ve helped him in even a small way. He’s a gentleman. He even sat through the Beatles’ film Yellow Submarine with me once, which is saying something. I talked all the way through it and he still didn’t lose his cool. Funny, though, we didn’t go to pictures together again."
Hopkins and Davies are still in touch, more than 50 years after they last played together. “You couldn’t meet a nicer man,” says Chico. “If you need advice, he’s always there to offer it. If you need a favour, he’ll do it.”
Would Davies have prospered in the power-based modern game? It's a question that doesn't need answering.
The boy from Llansaint ended up going to Cambridge University, later becoming a writer for The Times. Nowadays, the 77-year-old Davies is president of the Welsh Rugby Union.
His has been some career in rugby and beyond. The Hawke’s Bay display was one peak but there were many others.
When he made his Wales debut all those years ago, a youngster called Barry John also featured at Test level for the first time.
It’s hard to imagine too many countries have unleashed two such extraordinary players on the world on the same day.
Their joint anniversary this week is worth marking.
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