Phil Davies is preparing for a vital Test match this week as Namibia face Kenya. There will be a shake-up on the coaching front at his old region, the Scarlets, this season, but as he tells Dai Sport, he’s not checking his phone.
Phil Davies believes he is a better rugby coach now than at any time in his life as he prepares to take Namibia to another World Cup.
Like Mike Ruddock – a serial winner in Irish rugby, who collected an incredible four trophies last season – Davies is a prophet more honoured these days outside of Wales than within.
As the four regions prepare for the new season without a single Welsh head coach between them, Davies believes there is a harsh abandonment of experience in his homeland that is peculiar to both Wales and rugby.
At 54, he is 15 years younger than Neil Warnock who is rightly lauded for guiding Cardiff City back into the Premier League. He is also a year younger than New Zealander Wayne Pivac, who will become a fellow former Scarlets coach when he takes the Wales job next year.
“People back home maybe feel I’ve had my opportunity,” says Davies whose Namibian side need only a single point out of this weekend’s clash with Kenya to clinch not only a fourth successive Rugby Africa Gold Cup title, but also a place in next year’s World Cup finals.
“I know that I’ve had chances at Welsh regions and they haven’t gone as well as I would have liked.
“But I believe I am a better coach now than I ever have been. You learn from every experience and perhaps the circumstances that surrounded my time at the Scarlets and Blues contributed to my downfall.
“As a player and coach I’ve won 14 cup finals, six league titles and been involved in more than 2,200 games. I played at two World Cups, coached at two Under 20 World Cups and am now looking to take Namibia to a second World Cup finals.
“In soccer they seem to value experience, good and bad, far more than they do in rugby. Once you lose a job in rugby people tend to brand you a failure and it sticks with you.”
The former Wales forward was never really given the chance to utilise his full array of talents during his two stints in charge of Welsh regional sides. Despite leading the Scarlets into the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup, he was sacked the following season and he also lost his position after a difficult time at Cardiff Blues.
He isn’t the first top-class coach to fall foul of the Blues board, but he does lament the fact that there isn’t currently a Welsh coach leading any of the four Welsh regions. The Scarlets are on the look-out for someone to replace Pivac when he moves into the Welsh job next year, but Davies isn’t holding his breath.
“It’s disappointing that there are no Welsh coaches leading a region at the moment, no disrespect to those currently in charge. There are plenty of good Welsh coaches around and we could have a number at the World Cup in Japan next year.
“Leigh Jones is involved with Hong Kong, who are hoping to qualify, while Kingsley Jones is helping Canada. I’m hoping to be there with Namibia and Lyn Jones is now coaching in Russia.
Namibia are four points ahead of Kenya, who beat Tunisia 67-0 last weekend, with a superior points difference heading into the decisive match in Windhoek and a bonus point this weekend against the Kenyans will be enough to book a place in Pool B at Japan 2019 alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and the repechage winner.
The loser on Saturday will move into November’s repechage in Marseille where they will join Canada, Hong Kong and Germany in a battle for the final place in Japan. While Namibia hope to make it a sixth successive appearance at the Rugby World Cup finals, Davies is looking to make it four tournaments as a player and coach.
Having seen his side beat Zimbabwe 58-28 in Bulawayo to make it a magnificent seven straight wins in the Gold Cup, Davies is on course to complete a second qualification for his adopted nation.
“We always knew it was going to go down to the wire in the last game, but we are in a good position and looking to complete the job in Windhoek. It would be a huge achievement for us to return to the World Cup finals and line-up against the teams in Pool B,” said Davies, who took over the Namibian job ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
“We’ve been the African champions for the past three years and now we want to make it four in a row and to make it to Japan undefeated. We’ve got all bar two of our best players available, but 17 of our matchday 23 played at the last World Cup.
“We are in a good place and we’ve got our average age down from 31 at the last World Cup to 24 this time. We’ve also built more strength in depth into our squad and there are greater options in key positions this time round.
“We picked up our first point at the World Cup in 2015 and the aim if we make it next year is to pick up our first win. That’s going to be a tough ask given the teams we have in our pool, but we had to play the All Blacks and Argentina last time out.”
Davies has spent much of the past four years helping the ambitious Namibian rugby union to develop their playing structure and broaden their playing base. With only 890 players to call on in the country, they have done very well to reach 23rd in the world rankings.
There is now a Namibian team playing in the Currie Cup, the domestic Premier League has been broadened and there is now a properly established high performance centre. Add in a full time physio, sports analyst and GPS tracking system and things are really looking up for Namibia.
His time in Africa has taken Davies back to his coaching roots, which began when he was lured away from Llanelli to steer Leeds Tykes from Division Four into the Premiership in England. Once again he has proved how good he is at developing talent and building sustainable systems.
“I’ve always enjoyed the development side of coaching and I gave a lot of young players a chance at Leeds, Scarlets and the Blues.”