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‘Cub’ is lion-hearted on a rugby pitch
At just 18 years of age James ‘Cub’ Davies has played three times in a winning Welsh rugby team and been involved with the Scarlets under 20 squad as a result of his dynamic play as an open-side flanker with Whitland Youth, and although he has been nicknamed ‘Cub’ for a long time it seems that he is a lion-hearted tackler who never gives less than 100%.
His nickname comes from the fact that parents Mike and Julie used to own the ‘Fox and Hounds’ pub in Bancyfelin and his elder brother Jonathan, now doing so well with the Scarlets’ first team, was dubbed as ‘Fox’ – so it was perhaps inevitable that the younger Davies should be called ‘Cub’ by his friends.
Mike played for Carmarthen Quins and James has followed him into the open-side flanker role although he started out with St Clears under sevens team as a prop before switching to the back row at under 10s and then Whitland under 11s when he played for Carmarthenshire and District Schools.
School and junior success
James also played for Ysgol Dyffryn Taf throughout all the age categories and as a member of their first XV over the past two seasons helped them win the league championship title against some very strong schools. He is included again this campaign but says that it is a transition period where new players have been drafted in and still need to find their feet.
He was also involved with Whitland RFC junior teams in the Pembrokeshire Cup competitions from the age of ten and reached the finals every year, only losing once and drawing once whilst winning the rest in the Australian-style finals held at one venue on a great day for rugby enthusiasts.
Youth team battler
Now James plays regularly for Whitland Youth and although they have several key players at university they have enjoyed a good run in the Welsh Youth Cup and face Newbridge in the next round. His coaches would say that he has always had a very high work-rate and is a key ball-winner for the team who never knows when he is beaten, including one match against Haverfordwest when he was a little younger and got knocked out tackling a much bigger opponent, but carried on tackling throughout the rest of the match.
Ask him about help he’s received and James is quick to answer.
“Whitland is a brilliant club,” he says, “and my first target at senior level is to get a place in their senior squad. My parents and big brother have been great and I can’t thank Arwyn Thomas and coaches like Roy Newton, Richard Jones and Ian Ace enough.”
Other sports are for relaxation
As well as his rugby, James also enjoys cricket at Whitland Cricket Club, having played in four winning teams in the Ormond Youth Cup Final and scoring 35 on one occasion. He also played football at right back or in midfield for St Clears up to under 15 level but then had to concentrate on his rugby.
He is also a keen darts player as he practises on the board at home and has scored lots of 180s – and if Whitland RFC starts a darts team next season he will be an eager volunteer for the team!
Welsh under 18 honours
But these are for relaxation since rugby is his main sport and he is a very hard worker in training and his commitment certainly paid off last season when he represented Wales Under 18s in the Six Nations Championship. He missed the early games against England and Scotland but was picked to play against Ireland at Musgrave Park, the home of Munster, and was thrilled to be part of a winning Welsh team, as he was when they also beat Italy and France.
“Running onto the field in the Welsh jersey was amazing,” said James, “and I was pleased with the way the matches went. At the end of the competition I went to the awards ceremony in Cardiff and received my cap from Terry Cobner, who looks after us and like me was an open-side flanker.”
James gave one of his shirts to Whitland RFC as a nice gesture of his appreciation and the other two have stayed firmly with his cap at home.
Scarlets inclusion
Another big step for James is the fact that this season has seen him drafted into the Scarlets under 20s squad a year ahead of his age group and he played against the Ospreys, Dragons and Blues to further his rugby education. He readily admits that his ultimate ambition would be to play professional rugby but knows there is a lot of work ahead if he is to do that – but if hard work, dedication and total focus are measures of success then James Davies is on the way to being a big success already!
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