Ex-pro Charlie Davies returns to Chesterfield roots

Charlie Davies in action for Northampton Saints back in 2018. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

The 30-year-old retired two years ago after a career which saw him play at the top level with Wasps, Stade Francais, Dragons and Northampton Saints, having initially begun with Chesterfield before joining Nottingham.

Now, having moved back to the area, he’s helping out on the coaching side with Panthers alongside his dad, Geraint.

He said: “I’m now living five minutes from the ground and having kept in touch with the club throughout my career, they were keen to get me in to help out!

"I’m mainly involved with the first team at the moment, helping with various things and offering up any advice, where needed, that I can relay following years of playing under top coaches and alongside and against world class players.”

Davies says he retired from playing professionally when he fell out of love with the game he’d played since a young age.

He said: “It got to the point where I just wasn’t enjoying it any more and I was getting quite low with it all.

"There were several reasons for that but it was the right time for me to stop. I’d had a great year at Saints but didn’t play as much rugby, which I had no huge problem with as there were two really good number nines ahead of me and I was getting to work with top class players again.

"But in the end I stepped away from the game and moved away from rugby altogether.”

Some time pursuing a career in the music industry in London came to an end due to redundancy late last year, with the COVID-19 pandemic having had a huge effect on his role.

He’s now on the verge of completing a post-graduate qualification in project management and is due to get married this summer – the latter being a good reason for not getting as involved on the pitch just yet.

He added: “I don’t think my fiancée will be that impressed if I turn up with a black eye! I did miss the rugby environment though and it’s been good to be back involved. I’m proud of what I achieved and would love to help some of the younger players at Chesterfield make that kind of progress.”