When Warren Gatland finalises his Wales Six Nations squad, the one position which will give him a welcome headache is openside flanker.
Max Boyce once famously wrote a song about the legendary Welsh fly-half factory which flung the likes of Cliff Morgan, Dai Watkins, Barry John and Phil Bennett off the conveyor belt, but if Welsh folk hero Boyce was to come up with the same song today it would focus on the long list of top-class number sevens Wales are now producing at a rate of knots.
Justin Tipuric, Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Taine Basham, Thomas Young and Josh Macleod seem to be the front runners when most pundits have a go at putting a Wales squad together on paper, but over the festive derbies another contender has thrown his name into the hat: Scarlets openside Dan Davis.
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The west Walians have experienced a resurgence over the past fortnight, beating both the Dragons RFC and Cardiff with Davis integral to both victories.
When it comes to Wales selection many readers will undoubtedly point to the fact Gatland has more experienced options who have been performing at a high level for a lot longer. True, but over the past fortnight Davis has gotten the better of both Basham (Dragons) and Young (Cardiff) both at the breakdown and around the park.
Davis, who was born in Oxford and raised in Llandeilo, was a standout player for Wales U20s but has been plagued by a series of injuries which have stalled his development.
Former Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, who handed a teenage Davis his debut while in charge of the Scarlets, always viewed the 24-year-old as a future international with one outstanding performance against Racing 92 back in 2019 really catching the eye. “Dan is a player the Scarlets and Welsh rugby can be very excited about," said Pivac back in 2019.
Whisper it quietly but Davis is finally beginning to realise his potential after a rotten period with injury and Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel believes he will only get better and better. At 182cm in height and 101kg Davis is like an amalgamation of Michael Hooper and Tipuric without the miles on the clock.
"He's quality," said Peel. "Someone like him just needs a run of games. There's a lot of good sevens in Wales and he gets overlooked a bit.
"The honest truth is sometimes we could have picked him a few more times as well. Yes, he has had rotten luck with injuries but hopefully he can stay fit now because he's an explosive player.
"I thought in that first 30 minutes [against Cardiff] he was everywhere making a lot of line breaks. He's a player that needs to stay fit. He burst onto the scene very, very young and he's still only 24. There's a lot more rugby in him."
In the past there have been question marks over Davis' physicality over the ball at the breakdown, but this has been dispelled of late. Against both the Dragons and Cardiff Davis did a job at the breakdown, succeeded in slowing opposition ball down, while also pinching a few turnovers. But his real point of difference is his explosiveness both in the wide channels and when running into traffic, while his footballing ability for a forward is only bettered in Welsh rugby by Tipuric.
In his four appearances for the Scarlets this season he has made 92 metres off 20 carries while he made a couple of clean line breaks in a devastating opening 30 minutes against Cardiff.
"I think his point of difference is his explosiveness with the ball," said Peel. "I think he's got great feet. Defensively I think he's getting better as well. That's probably an area of his game which he can get better at because of his explosiveness but he works really hard in defence and makes some good tackles.
"He also comes up with a few turnovers now and again. There's a lot more to come from him as well and the more rugby he plays the better he is going to get."
Realistically, there are other players who have a bit more credit in the bank when it comes to Wales selection so the Six Nations may come too soon for him. But if Davis can stay fit and get a run of games under his belt there is every chance he could get a taste of international rugby in the not too distant future. Watch this space.
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