A lot of headlines may have gone the way of Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza after their exploits with Exeter Chiefs and Wales U20s in 2022, and deservedly so, with both youngsters exceptional talents.
But keep an eye out for Rhys Davies in 2023.
With Will Rowlands ruled out for the entire Six Nations by injury and his Dragons team-mate Ben Carter also on the casualty list, Wales could have a squad vacancy at lock for the Six Nations and Davies could be the man to fill it.
His display for the Ospreys against Montpellier in the Heineken Champions Cup last month would not have gone unnoticed by Warren Gatland. True, it didn’t involve flashy offloads or runs that ripped open the Top 14 team's defence.
But it did feature bristling physicality, uncompromising tackling, unyielding work at mauls, two turnovers and a stubborn refusal to take a step back — exactly what was needed for an away game against the French champions, then. You can read more about the young giant breaking through here.
Davies has played a game of patience at the Ospreys, waiting for opportunities in a squad that contains Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard. But it may well prove to be time well spent as the 24-year-old has been able to add physical dimensions to his game that the modern lock needs, a point former Wales second row Gareth Llewellyn underlined when noting how the game had changed for second rows since he made his Test debut as a 20-year-old against New Zealand in 1989.
“It’s far more difficult for a young lock now,” said Llewellyn, who went on to win 92 caps for his country. “First and foremost, a second row has to be able to compete physically and not every up-and-coming lock is able to do so.
“These days, it takes longer to build up that level of strength and durability.
“It’s a big physical battle, especially for a second row, and years of training are needed. Admittedly, they get into it earlier now as academy players, but it takes time to develop that layer of physicality.
"Without it, a lock has no chance."
Evidence of Davies’ relish for the physical side of the game comes in the shape of his statistics for the season. He is the only Welsh player to boast a hundred percent tackling return in the United Rugby Championship this season: 61 hits attempted, every one nailed.
Twenty-nine of those defensive interventions came in adversity against Ulster in Belfast. Missing countless big names, the Ospreys were up against it from the start, but their 6ft 6in, 18st 3lb lock from Swansea kept felling opposition ball carriers. No player had ever put in more than tackles in a single URC game.
Not that it took Davies long to demonstrate his willingness to stand up for himself at the Ospreys.
Within weeks of his arrival, a member of the region’s staff was saying: “He’s raw, but he looks to have a lot to offer. He’s all knees and elbows, someone you wouldn’t want to come up against. All the bits are in place for him to be a good player.”
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth tells a story about how Davies declined to flinch when faced with what the Englishman calls “the senior player test”.
“Early on, he stood toe to toe while training was going on and he and Alun Wyn Jones were introducing themselves to each other,” said Booth.
“That’s the first test that you need, and he’s never backed down, which is brilliant. He has the respect of the senior pros around him.”
The former Bath player is still adding to his game, but that should be seen as a plus, with Alun Wyn Jones introducing extras into his play well into his 30s. Major players never stop trying to get better.
A product of Millfield school, where the ethos is about self-improvement, Davies is not going to fail for want of trying.
He is acquiring admirers as well. Suggesting the uncapped youngster looks set to join his fellow Ospreys locks in Gatland’s squad for the Six Nations, Shane Williams says of Davies in his latest column in The Rugby Paper: “The way in which he has stepped out of the considerable shadows of Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard at the Ospreys this season has been amazing to witness."
The Wales call will be Gatland’s. But whatever happens in the coming weeks, the future looks bright for a youngster whose rugby idol as a schoolboy was Bakkies Botha - and who's not partial to backing down himself.
Read more:
The Wales internationals who quit rugby in 2022
What went wrong for Stephen Jones, Wales' big coaching hope caught up in confusion of Pivac's reign
