Davies is currently with the Wales Sevens squad in Dubai having caught the eye of Paul John and the Wales Sevens management team.

Principality Premiership holders Cardiff are currently fifth in the table but only three points behind leaders Neath, and were the only Welsh side to win both their opening British and Irish Cup ties in November, beating Pontypridd 22-16 and Birmingham & Solihull 51-20. Davies has amassed 145 points already this season, already closing in on last year’s tally of 208.

Premiership head coaches, WRU and Regional academy staff, and selected journalists select the winner who receives £100 from the Principality Building Society, title sponsors of the competition.

Davies, who hails from Cefn Hengoed and played all of his junior and youth rugby for Penallta Rugby Club said, “I’m really enjoying my rugby at the moment. It’s my third season with Cardiff and my game seems to have come together well this season. The coaching has been good and Lee Jarvis has helped a lot with my kicking and my all-round game and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Wales Sevens experience so far.”

Cardiff assistant coach Jarvis added, “Gareth produced consistently good performances last season and has upped his game again this season, earning him a call-up to Wales Sevens.

“He is working very hard on his game, developing week by week and hopefully he will get some Regional rugby for the Blues by the end of the season. He has a good group of players around him at Cardiff but he controls the game well. I’m sure the experience of these two Sevens tournaments will benefit him greatly, both in terms of his game and his confidence.

“As far as our goals as a team are concerned, we are satisfied with where we are in the League at the moment. This time last year we were in a similar position and we went on to win the title so we are not too worried at the moment. We started slowly but we are now building well. We have played a lot of games recently and we’ve got a tough match on the weekend at Sardis Road but we are definitely keen to retain our title – and go as far as we can in the British and Irish Cup too.”

Mark Richards, Principality Retail Sales Manager for Cardiff, said: “Congratulations to Gareth Davies on winning this month’s Player of the Month award. Gareth has had an outstanding start to the season and we hope he returns from Dubai with even greater determination.

“We wish Gareth and the team all the best in the New Year and hope that they will once again reign as Principality Premiership champions.”

Gareth Davies fact file:

• DoB: 02.03.84
• Place of Birth: Caerphilly
• Club: Cardiff RFC
• Player most admired: Matt Giteau
• Sportsman most admired: Tiger Woods
• Career outside rugby: Bricklayer

“A portion of our squad got the week off last weekend so that gets everyone raring to go and fresh. The only injury concern that we have in that group is with Girvan Dempsey who missed the last game because of a training knock.

“We’ve got Stan Wright back, which is a good addition, well ahead of time. That’s very positive for us. The medical staff did a great job, but (credit) to him as well because he was so positive about getting back early. He’s probably a couple of weeks ahead of schedule and his positivity to get back for these games is outstanding.

“Obviously you’d like to have all of your best players available but we knew that through November we’d probably get one, if not two injuries. It’s just the probability of having that many players in the squad really. Jonny (Sexton) has become a very influential player in the team for us but we’ve got a lot of confidence in Shaun Berne and he’ll be doing the job this weekend and he’ll do it very well I’m sure.

“The first person that I would have told that we were having a look (at Matt Giteau) was Shaun. He, like us, understands that the more quality players we have available the better chance we have of winning any game. So it’s not just a matter of this week, there are other weeks to go after this. So if we take another injury in the backline – we’re missing Luke Fitzgerald and Jonathan Sexton – you’re starting to lose a good chunk in the backline. It’s about having the playing resources for the big games, not for the development games when you try different things. These are games that we have to win.

“We needed to get someone to fill the hole with Jonathan (out), but his absence won’t be that long. So now we’re not looking for anyone else. We had our chance to bring in quality, we were unable to, so now we have moved on as a squad as a whole.

“There’s no right or wrong way to go about these things and last week. Munster chose to play most of their guys, Ulster were probably forced not to play some of their players because they got injured, and we made a decision to rest the team and start preparing for this week’s game. As long as you’ve got a plan and you feel confident, and the players feel confident, then that’s the way you’ve got to proceed.

“I can understand why maybe I got a bit of criticism last week because it was not the scenario that I would have liked to have had. I would have liked to have had younger players playing with Girvan (Dempsey), Shaun Berne, maybe with Shane Jennings as well if he was available and with Stan Wright. But we don’t have the same depth because of those injuries or suspensions. So it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to in my mind’s eye.

“Okay, we had a horror first half, but I would still back those players. They gave everything they could and they will learn invaluably from the experience. We didn’t get any competition points, we’ll have to fight for those later, but with our start in the league we’ve had five away games out of eight. We only have to leave the country another two times in the league – we have two local away games and then we’re away in Cardiff and Glasgow – and the rest of our league games are at home. So we’re trying to calculate our run and hopefully we’ve got it right. Some of the players didn’t perform, but that’s part of the process.

“The situation in the Heineken Cup now is that the teams in this group are staring each other down. It will be case of who blinks first. There are so many match ups to come about now over the next two months and it’s an interesting set of circumstances because Irish will have to go to Scarlets, the Scarlets will have to come here, Brive have to come here, we have to go to London…

“It’s going to go down to the last day. But, for us, our only possible outlook can be on going down to Llanelli and winning the match at the weekend. All of the rounds are worth four points. The only game that is critical to us is round three. I know that’s quite clichéd, but round four mightn’t mean anything if we don’t win in round three.

“The Scarlets are a carefree side. They play running rugby and they will look to attack. Stephen Jones is a class operator. They have a really good 8-9-10 axis and in (David) Lyons he is playing better football in Europe than he ever played in Australia. Martin Roberts has come on a lot and of course Stephen Jones. They have a great offload game and they’re very well managed with a pack that will go on the front foot.

“They’re a very passionate crowd and you know that you’re going to be playing in a tough game. We’re going to be in the lions den before so we know that we can manage the crowd by the way that we play.”

Former Northampton Old Scouts Steve Thompson and Courtney Lawes

Steve Thompson and Courtney Lawes will be on parade at Twickenham on Saturday as a testament to Northampton Old Scouts.

Lawes follows Thompson and Ben Cohen as the latest to come out of the Scouts club founded in 1926 around a camp fire at Castle Ashby.

Thompson said: “A couple of the guys down at Old Scouts have said congratulations and ‘look after him’. With someone like Courtney it’s so exciting – he is so athletic and he’s only 20 – so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Lawes, a 6ft 7ins, 17st 4lbs former basketball player who only took up rugby in his mid-teens, said: “I spoke to my old coach Chris Parr and he is really excited and very proud. There’s bound to be a few nerves but luckily I’m not a massively nervous person so hopefully I can take it all in and keep focused on the game.”

As for Thompson himself, the white shirt was always a target when he returned to playing with CA Brive after a neck injury which he thought had ended his career.

“There was no way I was going to come back and think I wasn’t going to play for England. You either come back and try and be better than you were before – otherwise there is no point in doing it,” said the 31-year-old.

Also on this week’s podcast:

• Jonny’s back – the 2009 version
• Matt Giteau and Robbie Deans on Wilkinson
• Martin Johnson – on the new-look Australia

Listen to the Podcast here

Smith, the game’s fifth most capped player, has swapped roles with the Western Force 21-year-old David Pocock from last week. He will play in his 107th Test.

Ioane plays his sixth Test match, but his first at centre, after making a successful return from injury on the wing last weekend against the All Blacks. The powerful 24-year-old converted to the midfield for the Queensland Reds this year, making 10 appearances at centre before his efforts were curtailed by a shoulder injury that required surgery to correct.

He teams up with his state colleague Cooper, who has won selection for his eighth Test, but just his second at inside centre, after starring with 16 points from the flyhalf position during Tuesday night’s 36-5 win over Gloucester.

The 21-year-old features in the run on side for just the second time, and both have been in the number 12 jersey, after he started from that position during Australia’s 34-12 win over Italy at Melbourne in June. Cooper also played inside centre during the Queensland Reds’ final match of this year’s Investec Super 14, scoring a try against the Hurricanes at Suncorp Stadium.

The re-positioning of Ioane in the number 13 jersey has opened the way for Drew Mitchell, who scored two tries on Tuesday night at Kingsholm, to return on the wing after he was unused from the bench in Tokyo.

Cooper’s elevation from last week’s Test reserves allows Adam Ashley Cooper to return to fullback – the position he was originally selected for last week, before the injury to team vice captain Berrick Barnes prompted a late backline reshuffle. Ashley-Cooper scored Australia’s try, from fullback, during the Wallabies’ most recent visit to Twickenham last year.

While the selection of Smith is the only change from last week’s starting forward pack against the All Blacks; there are three changes in the backline as well as Ashley-Cooper’s relocation, with fullback James O’Connor and centre Ryan Cross dropping back to the bench.

Hooker Stephen Moore, who was originally named on the bench last week before being drafted into the run on side when injury troubled Tatafu Polota-Nau, has retained his place, with Polota-Nau selected to back him up.

Moore was the man of the match during the Cook Cup Test 12 months ago.

Australia’s 28-14 win over England last year was just its second success from its five most recent visits to London.

However, such is the level of the transition that has taken place within the Wallabies; just eight of that starting side will be back again in the run on team this Saturday.

Four are backs: Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Mitchell and Matt Giteau, while Smith, lock Mark Chisholm, Moore and prop Benn Robinson remain from the starting forward combination.

The match will be refereed by Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand.

The Qantas Wallabies team to play England in the Cook Cup Test at Twickenham Stadium, London, on Saturday 7 November, 2.30pm kick off (1.30am, Sun 8 Nov, AEST), is:

• 15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)
• 14. Peter Hynes (Queensland Reds)
• 13. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
• 12. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
• 11. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)
• 10. Matt Giteau (Brumbies)
• 9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
• 8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs)
• 7. George Smith (Brumbies)
• 6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)
• 5. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies)
• 4. James Horwill (Queensland Reds)
• 3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
• 2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
• 1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)

Run on reserves:

• 16. Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs)
• 17. Matt Dunning (Western Force)
• 18. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs)
• 19. David Pocock (Western Force)
• 20. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)
• 21. Ryan Cross (Western Force)
• 22. James O’Connor (Western Force)

This is the 37th Test match between Australia and England. Australia has won 21 and England 14 while the 1997 contest in London resulted in a 15-15 draw.

England holds a narrow 10 wins to eight advantage with one drawn, from the 19 matches played on English soil. This includes victories in three of the last five matches played.

Flanker George Smith will advance ahead of Chris Latham, with 12, as the second most capped Australian player against England, behind George Gregan who featured on 16 occasions.

The two teams compete for the Cook Cup, which was established in 1997. The cup is named after Captain James Cook and is currently held by Australia.

Although the links between the countries are undoubtedly close, the intensity of the rivalry between the two is a relatively modern phenomenon. This is evidenced by the fact that only six Tests had been played prior to the 1970s. Australia and England have twice met in Rugby World Cup finals, sharing the spoils one apiece, each having prevailed on the other’s home turf.