Scarlets cente Jonathan Davies has given an insight into the power of the role played by the British & Irish Lions fans in the first Test victory in Brisbane.
Davies made his Lions Test debut in the 23-21 victory at Suncorp Stadium and has been joined in Melbourne for tonight’s second Test by his parents and sister as he chases a famous Test series victory to add to the RBS 6 Nations title he helped Wales to win earlier in the year.
“The level of support has been quite surreal but it's great to see it and I'm glad that my family's here to experience it too. Hopefully, I'll get to repay them and all the supporters back home in Wales and make them proud on Saturday; I'm really looking forward to it,” Davies told the Scarlets website.
“The tour's getting better and better as far as I'm concerned and I can't express enough how special it is to be part of this group. I’m really grateful for all the support from back home as well as out here – it’s been brilliant.
“After the Brumbies game there was a bit of a down feeling back at the hotel, but since coming to Melbourne after the Test win on Saturday the boys have been on the bounce. There's been a real edge to us and I think the players turned it up on Tuesday with a really physical presence.”
Davies is used to playing at Parc y Scarlets and the Millennium Stadium, but was amazed at how the famous ‘Sea of Red’ got behind the Lions in Brisbane and roared them on to an eighth successive Test win in the city.
“It was a great last Saturday, the whole atmosphere and sense of occasion was special, and running out was just brilliant – that's when it suddenly just hit you like a brick wall,” added Davies.
“The whole occasion with the jersey presentation on the Friday when Ian McGeechan came in and had a chat with us was great, and I think the boys were ready to play there and then.
“When we came out of the team meeting and saw all the fans by the bus – that was incredible. I think that's one of the best parts when you play international rugby and you see all the supporters that have come out to meet you when you arrive.
“Everyone's aware now that the series win is only one game away and ideally we don't want to go to the final Test for that, we just want to get the job done. We've all done extremely well and we know what we want to achieve, and there's an opportunity on Saturday to be part of something special.”
Davies caused confusion in the Qantas Wallabies’ ranks within a minute of the start in Brisbane with a strong carry that ended with opposite number Christian Leali’ifano being carried off on his debut. He was due to take on the goalkicking duties for the home side.
It was also the first time that Davies had started a game playing between the two Leinster stars Johnny Sexton and Brian O’Driscoll. A week later and Davies believes they have developed an even better bond in time for the vital second Test.
“I enjoyed the partnership with Drico – it was the first time we'd played a full game together and I think we're getting more of an understanding. I'm trying to learn from the Leinster partnership between him and Johnny,” explained Davies.
“I'm thoroughly enjoying the whole experience. Training's going well and there's an understanding forming about how we want to play and what we want to achieve.
“What's been great is that the boys who haven't been picked, their attitude in training has been excellent, and we don't want to have a divide in the squad between the test team and the rest.
“We're all in this together, we've all worked extremely hard for it and we're on the brink of something special, and we want to achieve that as one really, that's the most important thing for us.”
