Across two British & Irish Lions Tours in 2013 and 2017, only six men played every minute of a Test series against either Australia or New Zealand.
The list of people who achieved that feat against both the Wallabies and the All Blacks is even smaller. In fact, it is just Jonathan Davies.
The centre, who called time on his playing career this week, enjoyed huge success in the red of the Scarlets and the red of Wales. Little wonder that when it came to wearing the red of the Lions, he immediately felt right at home.
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Lions Tours have played a crucial part in Davies’ path to the top, starting from one that did not even involve him. Having made his regional debut in 2006, it was three years later, when future centre partner Jamie Roberts was tearing it up for the Lions in South Africa, that Davies got his first international opportunity.
On a tour of North America, Davies hit the ground running with two tries in just his second appearance, a convincing win over the USA.
At international level, his real breakthrough came in 2011, establishing himself as the first-choice option alongside Roberts and featuring in every game as Wales reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in New Zealand.
With a Grand Slam and a Six Nations title in 2012 and 2013, Davies was an obvious choice to make the Lions squad for that summer’s Tour to Australia.
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Over the course of those two Championships, Davies played all but 11 minutes, an indication of just how important he was to Wales’s cause.
It would be a similar scenario in Australia. Even though he was battling with Roberts and Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll, as well as rising England star Manu Tuilagi, for a Test spot, it was Davies who nailed down the jersey.
From a try in the opening game against the Barbarians, and another against the Waratahs a week before the first Test, Davies showed that he was ready for the opportunity at Test level, with injuries to Roberts and Tuilagi opening the door.
He marched through that door and then some. Even in the less familiar No.12 jersey, he and O’Driscoll combined impressively in a hard-fought 23-21 success over the Wallabies in their fortress of Brisbane.
A week later, the pair were selected again, although this time Australia came out on top in an even tighter affair 16-15.
With Roberts fit again, the big decision for Warren Gatland was whether to bring him straight back in, and if so, for whom.
Gatland made the bold call to pair up his Wales combination, and the midfield duo did not disappoint in the stunning 41-16 win that wrapped up the series.
Four years later, Davies arrived in New Zealand with a very different status. Now 26, he was the only centre on tour who had made it to Australia, with the inside track to the Test starting spot.
Once he touched down in the Land of the Long White Cloud, Davies lived up to that pre-tour billing. He started at outside centre in the crucial victory over the Crusaders, and again as the Lions got the better of the Maori All Blacks.
The question was who would start alongside him with Ben Te’o getting the nod for the first Test. Davies made his presence felt, despite the 30-15 loss, touching the ball not once but twice on Sean O’Brien’s try that will go down as one of the greatest-ever for the Lions.
For the second and third Tests, Davies had a new centre partner in Owen Farrell, who shifted to 12 from fly-half to accommodate Johnny Sexton.
He was outstanding in the second Test victory in Wellington, 24-21, but saved his greatest performance for the decider back at Eden Park.
From running a dummy line under the shadow of the All Blacks’ post, Davies somehow popped up to chase down Ngani Laumape and deny New Zealand a certain try early in the encounter.
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Defensively, he was at the heart of everything the Lions did well, with another huge hit on Jordie Barrett stemming New Zealand’s momentum and allowing the tourists to stay in the game.
When Farrell nailed the late penalty to earn a draw, it was only possible because of the work that Davies had done to that point. It came as no surprise when he was voted The British & Irish Lions Player of the Series – the third Welshman in a row to receive the honour after Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny.
Over the course of two Tours, Davies wrote his name into Lions history as one of the great centres to have worn the red jersey.
Now, as he calls time on his playing career, that legacy will live on with each player who lines up in the midfield on future Tours.
