Davis relishing ‘huge opportunity’ as Defence Coach settles in

His family have settled in nearby North Berwick after an opening fortnight spent getting to know the capital, and after a first full week of pre-season training, the early impressions are hard to miss.

“Edinburgh is a fantastic club,” Davis says. “In terms of the city, it’s one of the greatest in the world, so full of history.”

It’s the rugby side of things, though, that has him most animated. New faces in the coaching group, a clear plan taking shape, and a squad hungry to make an impression – for Davis, it’s been an energising start.

“I’ve been really impressed, especially with the plan moving forward – the recruitment of new staff and how we’re gelling together has been exciting,” he says.

“Seeing the ambition of the players and their appetite for work on the training field has been very impressive too.”

It was that same sense of opportunity that convinced Davis to make the move back to the UK in the first place. After lengthy conversations with Head Coach Sean Everitt, he saw a club whose potential hadn’t yet matched its talent.

“It’s been well documented over the years that Edinburgh probably hasn’t achieved as much as the depth of the squad and the playing talent deserved,” he says.

“For me as a coach, being able to come into an organisation with such huge pedigree – with the support it has from the SRU and the move into the Hive – there’s a massive opportunity to help improve things and put Edinburgh on the map, in terms of achieving both immediate and long-term success. That’s the opportunity awaiting us.”

Nearly two decades into his coaching career, which has taken from him from Bath to Brisbane, Davis says he’s rarely seen a group respond as quickly as this one has in training.

“I haven’t seen a group of players hit the ground running as quickly as I’ve seen this week,” he says. “The key is sustaining that – not getting bored with doing the right things at the right time on the training field.”

He’s been direct with the squad about what comes next.

“There’s clearly enough talent in the room,” he told the players in a meeting this week. “It’s about us harnessing that and doing the right things consistently on the training field so it transfers onto the rugby field.”

Rather than rip up what’s gone before, Davis has spent his first fortnight building on it –  reviewing last season’s footage to identify where Edinburgh can sharpen up defensively.

“There’s been a lot of good work done previously by other coaches in terms of the players’ defensive habits,” he explains.

“I looked at a lot of footage from last season, and identified the biggest areas where we can improve, be harder to break down, and find opportunities to step forward. It’s about building on what’s already been done.”

The identity he wants to instil is a simple one, but it applies across every phase of the game.

Whenever we wear the shirt, it’s a side that attacks everything, with and without the ball,” he says. “It’s a team that competes for everything, doesn’t put its head down, and just goes after the next moment and the next action.”

That approach will be tested soon enough. Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup draw pits them against both RC Toulon and Harlequins, not before URC openers against Ulster [A] and DHL Stormers.

However, Davis, back in the European game after three years coaching in Australia, isn’t shying away from the challenge.

“Tough draw, but really exciting,” he says. “The beauty of the URC is that cross-section of Italian, Irish, Welsh and South African teams, and now with the European fixtures sprinkled in too, it’s exciting. Starting at home against French heavyweights doesn’t get much better than that – I’ve no doubt we’ll be getting stuck into it.”

For now, Davis is keeping his focus close to home – on the training field, on the group in front of him, and on getting the building blocks right before a ball is kicked in anger.

“What I’m focused on is getting the players into the best possible shape, giving them clarity around their defensive organisation, attacking every day as best we can, and getting better,” he says.

“Hopefully that puts us in a sharp place by the time the season starts.”

He’s even still finding his feet with the group in one respect.

“To be honest,” he laughs, “I’m still trying to get used to all the names first.”