while a fresher before getting a contract.
His perseverance paid off as he’s now a
full-time senior academy player, training
with the first team, and played in the
Premiership Rugby Cup last season.
His pathway includes playing for
England U18 with Joe Cokanasiga and
while his progress hasn’t been as rapid
as his fellow Bath wing, he has high
hopes for the future, for club and country.
“Running out at the Rec is very hard to
describe. It’s an unbelievable experience.
There’s so much history and heritage at
the club, you don’t
want to let the shirt
down and the boys
around you down.
“I’ve made very
good friends and
we want to be in a
place where we’re getting trophies in
the future. If you look at Saracens and
Exeter and the culture they’re trying to
build, that’s where we are moving and
we’re definitely on the right track.
“Next season I’d love to be more
involved in the senior squad and make
Premiership appearances and I’ll push
for that. I just want to try to help the club
move forward. I like beating defenders,
running hard. I want to make an impact
and that manifests itself differently with
different players. Everyone wants to
be a player that when you catch the
ball people’s eyes are on you.
“Anyone who plays rugby wants to play
for their nation and I certainly want to
push for more. I’m hardly ever satisfied
and hopefully that will come to fruition.”
Grand ambitions in rugby and music,
then, but Davis believes the dual focus
helps him both as a player and a singer.
Time management is key, juggling
training and lectures, but the schedule
marries up well in that a lot of BIMM
classes are held late afternoon once
training is over and on Wednesdays,
which is generally the club’s day off.“Bath are really good with it,” he says.
“They understand people have a life
outside rugby and that can make you a
better rugby player. If your mind is stuck
in one thing, it quickly becomes very
intense. This helps my whole character.”
For one so young, Davis has a lot of
life experiences and while they are not
all positive – far from it – he has found
a way to move forward.
When he was just two years old,
his father tried to drown him and was
subsequently sent to prison. At seven,
he was taken into foster care because
his mother couldn’t cope – he has twoolder brothers, a younger brother and
two younger sisters. He lived with a
foster family until he was 17 and then
moved in with family friends who
became his guardians; he jokes that
it is “expensive at Christmas”.
Then there was the “culture shock” of
going from a state school to a private
boarding school on a sport scholarship
while in care, not only in terms of
education but socially. “It was a massive
change being around people I hadn’t
necessarily had the opportunity to be
around before. And you’re with people
all the time like you wouldn’t be at a
normal school – lessons, study periods,
after school. It was pretty intense at first.”
All those experiences have helped
shape Davis into the man he is now.
He’s ambitious but has the work ethic to
match it; he’s talented but humble; he’s
determined but not forceful. Things are
still far from perfect now family-wise, but
rugby and music provide an escape.
“I don’t look back, I’ve got to move
forward,” he says. “I don’t remember
being drowned, so it’s like it never
happened to me.
“A lot of people
have their own
battles and I was
quite angry when
I was younger,
but I wouldn’t
be where I am now without that. My
guardian family and my foster family
before that are all great and have all
massively helped me to be where I am.
The people around me growing up were
all important and there are way too
many people I’d like to thank to name.
“When I was younger, I knew if I
worked hard enough I’d be able to
achieve and that just made me keep
working. That’s been my driving force.”
A remarkable young man with a
hugely impressive attitude – it would
be no surprise if he has successful
careers in both rugby and music. nMy Day Off“Bath understand people have
a life outside rugby and that
can make you a better player”
Calm before the storm
Posing for photos before the gigPrep time
Back stage
with the band