With tickets going on sale on Thursday, the Welsh Rugby Union hopes to sell out the Principality Stadium for the match against three-time world champions New Zealand on Saturday, 30 October.
Wales have not beaten the All Blacks since 1953, a fact which Davies and his players are tired of being reminded about – and eager to change.
“One of the historians here at the stadium said he was only a bump with his mum when Wales last beat New Zealand,” Davies says.
“That shows how long ago it was, if an historian wasn’t alive when Wales beat New Zealand last. It tells a tale.
“They are the hardest team to play against in world rugby, but it’s the biggest challenge.
“I am fortunate to have beaten them on the [British and Irish] Lions tour [in 2017], but it would be great to beat them at home here.
“It’s a massive challenge and you need a real 80-minute performance against them because they still execute their roles in those last 10 minutes whereas some teams tail off a bit.
“It’s been long enough now and just to stop people talking about how long it’s been would be nice.
“Once you have beaten New Zealand once and you know you can do it, it’s not a unicorn or anything like that.
“You talk about doing a fitness test, you do it the first time and you think it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But you can guarantee when you do it in a few weeks’ time, you will beat your score by a fair distance because you get used to doing it. It’s making your mind comfortable in that situation.”
Beating New Zealand would be monumental for Wales, arguably their finest achievement under head coach Wayne Pivac.
His has been a tenure of extreme highs and lows so far, with this year’s Six Nations triumph preceded by a dismal 2020 in which Wales lost seven of their 10 matches.
Davies has endured his own individual challenges too, overcoming serious injuries to regain his fitness.
The 33-year-old Scarlets centre captained Wales for this summer’s matches against Canada and Argentina and, after a testing 2020, he is looking forward to the season ahead.
“There were definitely huge positives to win the Six Nations again and captain my country,” Davies says.
“But most players would think because of the difficulty of being in bubbles, everyone in lockdowns and not being able to see friends and family, it was probably one of the most difficult seasons everyone’s been involved in. It was just the nature of the beast, you had to keep on going.
“Personally I felt coming back from a knee injury and picking up a bump just after Christmas wasn’t ideal – but that’s gone now.
“I’ve got an opportunity now to get back in with the Scarlets and hopefully hit the ground running – that’s what I’m looking forward to. Park what happened last year and move on.
“You feel sorry for the boys who had their first caps behind closed doors. Hopefully that won’t happen again.”
