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Davies looks to future after suspension

Davies looks to future after suspension

Bradley Davies will return to action for Cardiff Blues tomorrow after serving his seven match ban from the Six Nations.

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The 33-cap second-row was yellow carded after dumping Donnacha Ryan on his head in the opening Championship clash with Ireland and was subsequently suspended.

But Davies has served his time and has been selected in the Blues side to face Glasgow Warriors, along with Grand Slam stars Jamie Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny.

He insists he did not intend to harm Ryan during the Aviva Stadium triumph and was relieved to see no damage was done during the reckless incident.

“I saw Donnacha Ryan counter-rucking Adam Jones. By the letter of the law, it is legal, but it is dangerous. It’s similar to what Bakkies Botha did to Adam a couple of years ago on the Lions tour.

“I went to move him off the ruck.We had a bit of a tussle and I have basically just thrown him. I jogged to the next ruck and obviously the ref blew up.

“I didn’t think I had done much wrong or that it was that bad, until I saw it on the big screen – it looked terrible.

“It was just heat of the battle, I stepped over the mark and let my emotions get the better of me.

“The coaches gave me a rollicking, saying I was stupid and silly. I apologised to the boys after the game and I apologised to the player himself.

“Basically I shook his hand and said I was really sorry and he was totally understanding. I’m just glad he was okay and there was no injury because it was a stupid thing to do.

“Luckily enough, he went on to have an outstanding tournament and was probably one of the best players for Ireland.”

Davies fears he has jeopardised his future in a Welsh jersey but is determined to turn a new leaf and prove himself all over again.

“It was very hard to miss what I missed as a result,” added the Llantrisant-product.

“It’s definitely been the most difficult period of my career.I had been the starting number four for Wales for two games on the bounce.

“I threw it away and probably cost myself my Welsh place for the foreseeable future because the boys are playing well.

“It’s back to square one again. I still believe I am good enough to be there. It’s just I have got to prove that now.

“I’ve got to try and pick myself back up and play some good rugby for the Blues. I will take it on the chin. It’s just something I’ve got to live with and learn from.

“It’s been tough, but maybe it was the kick up the backside I needed. Looking back I was perhaps going through a bit of lull in my career. It might give me the drive to go and increase my performance.” 

Cardiff Blues L Halfpenny; A Cuthbert, C Laulala, J Roberts, T James; C Sweeney, L Williams; J Yapp, R Tyrrell, S Andrews, B Davies, J Down, M Molitika, J Navidi, X Rush

Replacements: M Breeze, N Trevett, S Hobbs, M Cook, K Dacey, R Rees, G Henson, D Hewitt

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