Barry Davies (born 5 March 1981 in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

, Wales) is a retired

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. Davies has also been capped by

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at international level. His primary position was at fullback.

Club career

Davies joined

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

as a 19-year-old from Carmarthen Athletic. He has since made over 100 appearances for Llanelli and the Llanelli Scarlets. During his career at Stradey Park he became the region's top try scorer, racking up 37 tries in his lengthy stay at the region. It came to light quite late in his

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby com ...

career that Davies was quite a remarkable goal kicker. During and ever since the 2003 season, Davies would attempt kicks at goal from long distances. His greatest kick was against Ulster in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

at Ravenhill from an estimated distance of 59 metres. Though he did not perform these kicks often, it was this sort of play on the pitch that earned him the nickname 'Barry the boot' from one commentator during the

EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses throug ...

and then again during the Powergen Cup semi-final against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. In 2007, Davies joined French club

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

, and in June 2009, he joined the

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

. He was released by the Ospreys in July 2012. Davies joined

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds was a rugby union club based in Jersey, Channel Islands. On 28th September 2023, the club ceased trading and shortly thereafter went into liquidation following the withdrawal of financial support from a key investor. Until seaso ...

in 2012, spending one season with the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side. Following his departure from Jersey, Davies joined

Coventry R.F.C. Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, ...

He signed on with the club for one more season, in 2014. Nowadays, he is a director for nutrivend and has a wife, a child and a dog.

International career

Davies was first included in the Welsh squad in 2004, for the Six Nations, following injuries to

Garan Evans Garan Rhys Evans (born 16 February 1973) is a Welsh former rugby union footballer, who played as a fullback for Llanelli, the Llanelli Scarlets and Wales. Evans was born in Trimsaran and educated at Ysgol y Strade in Llanelli. He made his int ...

and

Hal Luscombe Haldane 'Hal' Naude Luscombe is a former Wales international rugby union player. His usual position was on the wing or in the centres. The last team he played for was Worcester Warriors in the top level of English rugby, the Guinness Premiershi ...

. After scoring a memorable try for the Scarlets against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in the Heineken Cup pool stages, where the Scarlets needed to win the game to qualify for the quarter-finals, Davies was again called up, this time for the 2004 June rugby union tests. He was an unused bench replacement in a match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 19 June. He made his debut for Wales in early 2006, during the Six Nations that year. He came off the bench in a match against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

, which Wales lost 31–5.

References

External links

WRU articleBarry Davies called into Wales squad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Barry 1981 births Living people Rugby union fullbacks Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Llanelli RFC players Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen CA Brive players Ospreys (rugby union) players Welsh expatriate rugby union players in France British expatriates in France Rugby union players from Carmarthen