Wales might be in the midst of an injury crisis, but still left Jonathan Davies out of their team for the Australia match which would have been his 100th international.
But Wales boss Wayne Pivac backed Davies, 33, to reach that century, combining 93 Wales caps with six Lions ones so far, and make the next World Cup – making it clear he had not been dropped.
Pivac selected Uilisi Halaholo and Nick Tompkins at centre over Davies, a combination he had wanted to see previously but Halaholo caught Covid in the week of the All Blacks match.
Wales have left out Jonathan Davies to rob him of his 100th cap against Australia on Saturday
Wayne Pivac admitted Davies has not been dropped and is confident he will get his century
‘Jonathan hasn’t been dropped but we want to have a look at Willis and also Josh Adams in midfield,’ said Pivac who views Davies’ future at inside, not outside centre.
‘He’s the captain of this group, since Alun Wyn Jones left, and that doesn’t change just because he’s not playing.
‘He has a big input off the field, he’s a senior player. He understands that we always put the team first. As much as he wants to play, he understands the reasoning.
‘He knows that we’ve got a World Cup that we’re working back from and he’s desperate to play at that World Cup. He believes he’s got something to contribute, otherwise I believe he would retire.
‘We’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out for the Six Nations. If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t bet on Jonathan Davies walking away too soon.
‘He’s hungry. He’s just as hungry as if he had
