Jonathan Davies opens up on the ‘carnage’ of 2013 British and Irish Lions series after Warren Gatland caused a ‘media storm’
Centre Jonathan Davies and head coach Warren Gatland during the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour.
Jonathan Davies has opened up on the saga which saw him take the place of Brian O’Driscoll in the 2013 British and Irish Lions series.
The Wales centre was a key part of that tour to Australia and started the first two matches at 12 following an injury to Jamie Roberts.
Davies featured alongside O’Driscoll in those encounters, winning one and losing one as they went into the final Test against the Wallabies level.
Tight opening matches
The Lions defeated the hosts 23-21 in Brisbane before the Australians hit back a week later, emerging 16-15 triumphant in Melbourne.
That set up a winner-takes-all clash in Sydney where head coach Warren Gatland opted for a radical approach, making several changes including 10 of his Wales players in the XV.
Dropping O’Driscoll from the squad was the most controversial, with the great Ireland centre not even making the bench.
It caused a massive uproar, especially in the Irish media, who could not understand why the legendary Lion was not involved.
Significant pressure was therefore placed on Gatland, the team and Davies himself, but they all responded superbly as the tourists dominated the final Test.
After a relatively tight first half, the Lions moved away in the second period, scoring three quick-fire tries and claiming a 41-16 triumph.
As a result, they won 2-1, which was their first series victory since 1997.
‘I relaxed a bit’
“Honestly, that week was just carnage. We had a couple of days off after the second Test where I think Swoop (Adam Ashley-Cooper) scored the winner,” Davies told the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.
“Jamie was fit so I thought he was going to play 12 and Brian was going to play 13, so I think I relaxed a bit on the Sunday.
“On the Tuesday, I was told I was starting at 13 and I was like, ‘oh god, here we go’, and there was a bit of a media storm about it. But thankfully, we won the game.
“Gats on the Friday was like, ‘How’s it been?’ I was like, ‘Ah, it’s been pretty tumultuous, to say the least.’
“We got the result in the end and it was all forgotten about then. Everyone was trying to win a Test series. It wasn’t about one man, it was about 35 boys trying to win it, that’s the thing.”
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