Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies was almost hauled back from Clermont Auvergne by his mother after a frightening nightclub incident.

It wasn't long after the famed Wales centre arrived on French shores in late 2013 that he was taken for a night out with his team-mates in nearby Millau. But Benajmin Kayser – a revered figure in Clermont – revealed how the night went awry after a local gang armed with "machetes and shovels" attacked their squad.

On a 2023 episode of The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, Kayser and Davies explained how Clermont captain Aurelien Rougerie took exception when he saw a man hit a woman in the nightclub they were attending. Having caught the attention of the gangsters in question, some of the players – with Davies trailing behind – were later targeted on the way back to their hotel.

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"As we were walking up, we just see guys coming up with scooters, with things in their hands," said Kayser. "And it's p***ing down, we don't really know what's happening. And it's those boys, they came back.

"But they had machetes, shovels – and you know in front of boulangeries, you have like an advertisement thing? Well, they'd picked them up as shields. Then it was three minutes, two and a half minutes of just craziness. We beat the s*** out of them then. But they're cutting and that's why we've got cuts everywhere [motions to a large scarp on his bicep].

"Julien Pierre rocked up to come and save us, was about to swing on the first guy and got hit with a machete on his hip – 44 stitches he had. He was open from his bellybutton all the way to his back. This close [pinches fingers] to snapping his sciatic nerve. So that means no more leg power."

Davies – who earned 96 caps for Wales and appeared on two British and Irish Lions tours – interjected at this point and verified Pierre did indeed have a "hell of a scar" following his gruesome intervention. He couldn't help but laugh at the events that unfolded to greet him in France, though his mum wasn't as laid back over the matter.

"Yeah, welcome to the club! My mother was like, 'no, you're coming home'," added 'Fox'. "'You're not staying in France!'"

Six of the assailants who assailed the Clermont squad were later sentenced to prison for the attacks. The group were each sent to jail after being convicted of "violence with arms," with sentences ranging from one to four years.

Davies, 36, did indeed stay in France and enjoyed two successful years with Clermont before returning to Scarlets in late 2015. He reached the final of both the European Rugby Champions League and the Top 14 that year but lost out on each occasion.

Having announced his retirement from rugby in October 2024, a player of Davies' profile would go down a treat in Warren Gatland's camp today.

Wales lost 43-0 in their 2025 Six Nations opener last Friday and travel to Italy on Saturday in an effort to boost their bid to avoid this year's wooden spoon.