My Life in Rugby: Brett Davey – Doncaster Director of Rugby

Slotting the last-minute penalty to win the Principality Cup Final in 2002 was nerve-wracking but it was incredible to seal a famous win over Llanelli.
I scored all Pontypridd’s points and to have such an influential impact on the game was both special and emotional for me.
My grandmother had died but I felt she was with me on that momentous day and I had an extra incentive as my brothers and sister were there.
My earliest rugby memory was being taken to the 1979 Schweppes Cup Final where Ponty lost to Bridgend. I went with my grandmother and was so engrossed in the excitement of the game, I’ll never forget thinking that I’d love one day to be involved in a sporting environment like that.
I didn’t take up rugby with real determination until I was 17. I loved playing sport and was lucky enough to have a choice at playing both rugby and football. I played football through school and also managed to play for Ton Pentre in the League of Wales while playing rugby for Caerphilly.
I scored ten goals in eight games but didn’t want Caerphilly to find out.
My experiences of playing rugby in Wales were always brilliant. In the 1997/1998 season playing for Caerphilly I broke the WRU record for most points in a season with more than 500 points including one 42-point haul against Rumney. Caerphilly was a great club and I owe them a huge amount, but my heart was always at Ponty.
Beating Leicester and Munster in the Heineken Cup at Sardis Road were great occasions. We thrived on the underdog tag.
The hardest part was when the game restructured to regional rugby. I saw players for the first time not playing for the badge at Pontypridd and that really hurt. I never agreed with the regional concept. The Welsh side has benefited from the restructuring but the regions are suffering. Certain players only perform for their country.
Injury prevented me from winning my first cap for Wales, as I was in the squad to face the All Blacks at home in 2002.
But even that short time with the Welsh management team of Steve Hansen and Scott Johnson had a massive effect on me. In terms of Welsh ambitions, who knows what I could have achieved if they had been there a few years earlier when I was in peak physical condition.
After that I moved into coaching and learned an incredible amount from my time at Coventry and the Cornish Pirates. I was offered to stay at the Pirates but found it difficult to settle in the area.
In 2009, I instead opted to link up with my former Pontypridd coach Lynn Howells at Doncaster as their backline coach. When I was offered the director of rugby role I simply could not turn down such a fantastic opportunity.
The club has experienced some tough times but is moving in the right direction. We’ve picked up a strong contingent of talented and ambitious Yorkshire players.
We have a big development philosophy. With our squad and management structure we’re in a good position to improve on last season’s showing.