But Davies believes that whoever takes their place in the New Zealand field this month will be just as good, even though Nonu and Smith played 61 tests together and appeared in two World Cup finals. Steve Hansen is due to announce his team at 6pm BST today.
They were part of the retiring class after the back-to-back World Cup triumph at Twickenham, leaving the dynamic Welsh duo to take over their mantle as the most experienced midfield pair in the world game.
Davies and Roberts hope to line up alongside each other for the 45th time in a Welsh international – they also played once together for the British & Irish Lions in Australia in 2013 – in the first Test against the world champions in Auckland on Saturday.
And for once the question is, who will play against them? Never mind who comes in for Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, how does New Zealand coach Steve Hansen replace the heart beat of his side now that Nonu and Smith have headed to the lucrative pastures of French club rugby?
“I played against Nonu a few weeks ago in France. He and Conrad Smith were a great partnership, probably the best I’ve seen in my time, and what they achieved was pretty special. But we know that whoever steps into their jerseys now will be just as good,” warned Davies.
“I grew up watching Nonu and Smith play together and I tried to see why they were so good and then to emulate them when I got to that level. I can also remember watching the late, great Jonah Lomu.
“The All Blacks have always been the team you want to play against and to face the Haka. It is always an occasion, one you have to enjoy and thrive on, and we want to win the series – that’s what we have come here for.
“When you look at the two squads we have got a lot of midfield experience, and probably win the battle on caps. But the players involved in the New Zealand set-up have been in World Cup winning squads before.
“It’s going to be a tough task for us, but we are very confident. We are a settled team and the boys who played against England will be much better for their hit-out – that game should help us going into the first Test.
“They obviously had a well established partnership before with Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, but we know that whoever they put on the field is going to present a tough task. We just have to prepare well and do our homework on each opponent.
“We don’t know who they are going to pick at this stage and they could go with Ben Smith at centre and Israel Dagg at full back. It is something we are looking at we are preparing as best we can.
“We have to make sure that when we get the ball we are accurate and we use it effectively. You don’t get many opportunities playing against the All Blacks and when they come you’ve got to take them.”
Davies and Roberts are closing in on Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy’s Irish record of 53 games together, but neither of them has won a game at Eden Park or against the All Blacks.
“We have three opportunities to try to beat them in this series and if we can win it will be something the boys will never forget,” added Davies.
“I’ve played at Eden Park in the 2011 World Cup in the semi-finals and Bronze final, but whenever you play against New Zealand in New Zealand it is special and always memorable. Hopefully Saturday can be exactly that.
“If you win the first Test then you want to go on and win the series. I don’t think we’ve won a Test match in the southern hemisphere for a long time, so winning down here would be huge for the whole squad.”
