FAMILY tragedy, sporting adversity and grim determination are revealed as the driving forces behind Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies's success.
A new documentary being shown tomorrow night profiles the sporting star turned TV pundit and charts his early playing days as a boy in Trimsaran through to his heyday captaining the Welsh rugby team before successfully becoming a regular fixture on our screen, sharing his expert opinion on top matches.
To many he was a controversial character, far from the revered commentator he is now considered, reviled by fans in his homeland for heading north in the 1980s when he was captain of the Welsh side – taking money to switch codes in the days when rugby union was strictly an amateur affair.
But in the film, narrated by Jason Mohammad, Davies speaks frankly for the first time on camera about why he made his tough decision and that his desire to provide for his wife Karen and their two young children at the time was always his priority.
As his biographer Peter Corrigan reveals Davies, whose success on the pitch brought him nationwide fame – including a prime-time appearance on Wogan - had "public adulation but nothing coming with it".
See some of Davies's best tries:
Despite criticism from the Welsh supporters he left behind and the suspicion of fans at his new club Widnes, Davies – nicknamed Jiffy for his speed around the pitch – won over the league followers and earned respect for his dedication to his new code and its physical demands.
He hit the headlines again for more personal reasons when his wife's battle against cancer became public knowledge and he was left to bring up his children after her tragic death. This was a factor that drove him to succeed at his new career as a commentator and also influenced his fundraising work for Velindre Hospital in Cardiff where Karen was treated.
Although now happily remarried to Helen, and dad to another little girl, he remains committed to the cause and the film follows a charity bike ride across California he organised to mark his 50th birthday. He was accompanied by a host of famous former Welsh rugby stars including Mike Hall, Tom Shanklin and Martyn Williams who saddled up to help him raise more than £500,000 for the hospital.
"Only Jiffy could make this happen," reveals Williams, just one of the many sporting stars – including his old Wales team-mate Robert Jones and England adversaries Rob Andrew and Jeremy Gusgott who share their views of Davies, on and off the rugby pitch.
Jonathan Davies: Trimsaran Boy is on BBC1 Wales at 9pm tomorrow.
