ETHAN Davies is grateful that past exploits on the sevens circuit for Wales kept alive his Commonwealth Games dreams when he feared the worst because of a pair of injury blows.

The 24-year-old from Pontypool has been named in the 12-strong squad for the Gold Coast next month despite not having played a competitive game since suffering a knee injury in December's Cape Town tournament of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

The playmaker went through months of rehabilitation to get back on the field… only to roll his left ankle and damage ligaments in the first game of a practice series with Ireland at Rodney Parade in February.

Davies saw a specialist to determine whether he would need an operation and four months out, but was given good news to be in contention for Gareth Williams' squad for the Games.

The fly-half/full-back worked hard to be ahead of schedule in his comeback then learnt his fate in a one-to-one meeting in the coach's office last Friday.

"I would have been nervous anyway going in for the selection meeting but having that second setback put a massive doubt in my mind," admitted Davies, who could feature for Pontypool against Cardiff Met in the Championship this weekend.

"I'd had a few sleepless nights but I was over the moon when I was told that I had made it, there is no better feeling and it was a really special moment.

"I think that what I have done in the past on the sevens circuit is what got me in and now I am back in full contact training and I'm ready to go just in time."

Wales have drawn Olympic champions Fiji plus Uganda and Sri Lanka for the tournament with only the group winners going through to the medal shootout.

Davies is one of the Games contingent that will warm up by playing in the famous Hong Kong Sevens on the weekend of April 6.

"It's an incredible tournament anyway, so I am just excited to play in that, but it will also help me get my sharpness back ready to go for the Gold Coast," said Davies.

"We will go to the Commonwealth Games really confident, we beat Fiji last year and we are more than capable of doing that again.

"We aren't just brushing aside Uganda and Sri Lanka – they are going to be two tough games as well – but we are seeing Fiji almost like a quarter-final.

"We will go to Gold Coast knowing that we have the ability to come back with a medal."

Coach Williams believes the presence of Davies gives Wales' podium hopes a significant boost.

"When we have gone toe-to-toe with world-class teams, Ethan has been at the heart of that," he said. "He is a leader and takes charge on the pitch.

"He has been an excellent professional in his rehab and selection has gone back over a longer period of time when Ethan really put his hand up, being the second highest points scorer in the World Series last year.

"His restarts are excellent, his distribution is superb, he understands the flow of the game and is a threat with the ball himself with a turn of pace and the ability to take advantage of a gap."

Davies is joined in the squad by the Dragons trio of Hallam Amos, James Benjamin and Angus O'Brien. The group stages are on Saturday, April 14 with the knockout stages the following day.