Welsh international flanker James Davies announced on Friday that he was ending his career at the age of 31 due to the risk of concussions, at the site of his club, the Scarlets. Brother of three-quarter international center Jonathan Davies, “Cubby“, as he was nicknamed, has not played rugby since his 11th selection with the Leek XV, in November 2020, against Georgia (18-0), in front of his Llanelli audience.
«I’ve loved every minute of my career here at the Scarlets and made some amazing friends over the time, but after speaking to the specialists it’s pretty obvious that I can’t continue playing at the rugby“, he explained in the press release. “At the moment, fortunately, I am able to lead a normal life, something that I have not been able to do for a long time (…. but) any shock to the head in training or in a match could send me back to the square one and that’s unacceptable to me“, he continued.
The player has made 101 appearances for the Scarlets but, due to repeated concussions, he has only played 9 times for the club since the 2019 World Cup where Wales finished 4th. An intractable defender, he was also a fairly good ball handler thanks to his experience in rugby sevens, where he was even captain of the Welsh selection. He had also won the silver medal at 7 with Great Britain, at the Olympic Games in Rio.