Wales star Gareth Davies has been helping out his family by jumping on a tractor in the summer heat, just a couple of weeks after captaining Wales on the rugby field.
With 77 caps and a pretty outstanding rugby resume, Davies has enjoyed a stellar career, but he has no intention of going anywhere soon despite a number of other interests.
“I’m 34 in August now,” explained Davies. “I’d like to think that I’ve got at least three seasons left at the top level. I still feel pretty fit. I’m quite fortunate I’ve had no major injuries. I still feel pretty good, I still feel like a 25-year-old if I’m honest!”
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With the boiling summer sun beating down on the UK right now, farmers around the country have hopped into their tractors, called their contractors and are out mowing their silage.
Davies has been doing some work for Lleine Agri Contractors out west near Cardigan, run by his cousin and uncle. And it turns out this wasn’t his first rodeo on a John Deere tractor.
“I’ve been doing it for years,” explained Davies. “I used to do it when I was a lot younger, when I was 16, 17 – that used to be my summer job. To be honest, as I’ve grown older I’ve had less time in the summers, but I do enjoy maybe two or three days per summer helping them out, and then I feel like I’ve had my fix then for the year.
“This time of year is a very busy time for them. A couple of times a year I’ll always get a couple of phone calls off my cousin to go and help if they need an extra driver when they are flat out and there’s silage to do.
“It’s quite time-consuming, I haven’t got as much time anymore to do it, but I enjoy doing like two or three days here or there over the summer.”
Davies could be seen transporting what’s called ‘clamp silage’, which is basically the loose grass form of silage. You may be used to seeing round bales in farmers’ fields, but this variation sees the grass essentially stacked and rolled together in bulk, instead of being individually wrapped.
You can check out Lleine Agri Contractors on Instagram below.
Davies will turn 34 in August, and is heading into a new season with Scarlets and Wales. The Welshman featured for Warren Gatland’s team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where he became the highest-scoring scrum-half in the competition’s history. He also played in the Six Nations and toured with Wales this summer, to complete a very long season alongside his commitments with Scarlets.
During the off-season, as well as carting silage in Cardigan, the number nine has been trying to stay sharp going into a new campaign.
“I try not to switch off mentally and physically in those first two weeks,” continued Davies. “I’ve got five weeks off in total. So for the first two it’s trying not to switch off completely mentally and physically. For the three weeks before heading back in to pre-season, I’ll start ticking over, going to the gym, going for a couple of runs and just try and get my body ready for when we start on August 26 with Scarlets.”
Davies has also recently started a business called ‘Blackbear’, which is a new estate agent based in Haverfordwest. It opened its offices on Monday, June 3, with Jamie Barnett (pictured above) working alongside Davies in the project.
“With Blackbear that we launched a few months ago,” continued Davies. “I’m doing a little bit of work behind the scenes with Simon, Emily and Jamie, we’re getting busier and busier as the weeks go ahead with enquiries coming in, more listings coming on. So that’s great to see that ticking over.”
Davies also works with his father Kevin at his car dealership, Cawdor Cars. “I do quite a bit with my old man with the car company,” continued Davies. “I like to go and meet local farmers down here in Pembrokeshire and try to sell a few pick-ups and vehicles. Local tradesmen and tradespeople are always in the market for new vans.”
Speaking about his future, Davies is open-minded. He added: “I’d like to keep my options open. My main priority is my dad’s family business, which my brother is also involved in as well, he’s working in the business now. When I finish playing rugby in a few years’ time, hopefully not too soon, but in a few years’ time that is a priority for me, and I’m also really excited for the future of Blackbear.”
