The Ospreys playmaker has won six caps to date, all as a replacement for clubmate Dan Biggar last season. But with Biggar way on British & Irish Lions duty, former World Rugby Junior Player of the Year Davies is battling with Gareth Anscombe, Owen Williams and Rhys Patchell for a starting berth.
Sam Davies’ 102 Minutes of Test Rugby
16 min v Australia
13 min v Japan
20 mins v South Africa
40 min v Italy
12 min v Scotland
1 min v Ireland
“The team for Friday hasn’t been picked yet, but I’d like to think I’m going to get a bit of game time on this tour,” said Davies. “It’s about making sure I make the most of every opportunity I get.
“I’ve had a few snippets here and there, but the most game time I’ve had was in the Six Nations against Italy. I really enjoyed that and thought I played well.
“I want to test myself at that level again and, hopefully, I can go out there and do the job for the team. I haven’t trained at 15, so I’m being seen as a 10, which is obviously my position and that’s where I want to play.
“We know it’s going to be a physical encounter with Tonga and we know they’re going to want a broken game. We’ve got to try and stop that by sticking to our structures and systems.”
Friday night’s fixture will be a curtain-raiser to the All Blacks’ clash with Samoa, which they are using as a warm-up to their three-test series against the Lions. Wales move on to Apia next week to meet Samoa on Friday, 23 June.
After shaking off a minor niggle, Davies has declared himself ready to go if called upon by head coach Robin McBryde.
“I’m feeling pretty good and have been enjoying it since we got here. I had a little bit of a groin problem towards the end of the season, but I’m over that now and looking forward to getting going,” he added.
“Today was a great session with everyone getting stuck into each other and that’s what we need. The competitive edge is there and that’s a good thing because it’s only going to benefit us in the games.
Watch Tonga v Wales on Friday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 6.20am.
