Wednesday 24 December 2014 14:45, UK
Jonathan Davies looks back on a good year for club and country, and shares his hopes for 2015 – including keeping fully fit for Wales' 2015 World Cup campaign...
It’s been quite a year! Looking back at 2014, I have to say I was a bit frustrated with how much time I spent injured – I didn’t really get a good run of games together. If I had to make one change it would be to have been fully fit for the year, and that’s exactly what I’m hoping for in 2015!
I would like to maintain consistent game time and keep pushing with Clermont, which will hopefully help with my selection for the Welsh squad for the Six Nations.
As individuals we all have our club rugby to consider in January and we won’t have much time together ahead of the Six Nations, so we will have to make sure we are switched on and make use of the time as we build toward the real draw card of rugby – that World Cup.
People often ask if winning the Six Nations gives a team a psychological edge when it comes to the World Cup later in the year. Winning the Six Nations would be good for momentum there is no doubt, but I don’t think teams who don’t win it are suddenly out of contention for the big showpiece further down the line.
This league is an attraction for players like Nonu, who is willing to put his international career on hold in order to test himself in the Top 14.
We have a huge match-up in the opening week of the Six Nations with a game against England at the Millennium Stadium. Parts of the rugby community will say that the match offers bragging rights for our pool match against them in the World Cup but I don’t see it that way. They are two totally different competitions played in different conditions with different pressure moments. As the old saying goes, a year is a long time in sport.
Focus
There will be a bit of excitement ahead of our showdown with the English but we’re just going to go about our business. From a Welsh perspective, it’s always great to beat England of course, but we don’t want to lose focus and give in to emotion in what is an important year for all of us.
Going back to my injury-free wish for 2015, it is something that is in the back of your mind as a player. You realise that as you get closer to the World Cup the more chance there is that an injury could rule you out of the competition. Missing out on selection because the coach wants to opt for another player is always hard to take, but missing out completely due to a freak accident is that much tougher.
With that said, you can’t actively avoid injury on a rugby field; if you go into a tackle half-heartedly you are just as likely to get injured, if not more. There are always going to be injuries and disappointments but that is part of the game and we all know that.
I have been in training with Clermont after recovering from my injury and I am hoping to take part in our game against Lyon, which is coming up after Christmas. It’s a very important match for us because we want to end the year with a positive and stay right up there on the table.
The coaches spoke about the block of three big games in December which were our two Champions Cup games against Munster and our league game against Castres. With the focus that was put on those games, it was very satisfying to win the three encounters.
Attraction
The Castres game wasn’t pretty but it was a win. A lot of teams may have fallen away when they went down to 14 men but there’s an understanding from the players about what the coaches expect of us in a game. The execution of the game plan was perfect, the half-backs controlled the game well and our defence once again was superb.
We have to make sure we keep pushing from here and as a group stick to our goal of putting pressure on other teams and staying on this side of the table.
It is a tough league so you have to switch on every week, but I enjoy the challenge. I've really enjoyed my time in the Top 14. It’s going to get that little bit tougher next year with the arrival of players like Dan Carter and Ma’a Nonu. That just goes to show that while of course there is money in this league, it is also an attraction for players like Nonu, who is willing to put his international career on hold in order to test himself in the Top 14.
The thought of Nonu lining up with Mathieu Bastareaud at Toulon is an interesting one – not many places to hide when you’re facing that midfield pairing!
