Gareth Davies has been urged to rethink his international retirement for the 2027 World Cup by former Wales team-mate Scott Baldwin.

The 36-year-old scrum-half sparked a Scarlets comeback from 21-7 down to beat Benetton in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.

Davies retired from Test rugby in 2024 but ex-Wales hooker Baldwin believes the veteran could still thrive at a fourth World Cup next year.

“He could be just what you want in a quarter-final of a World Cup, in a Wales-England fixture in 12 months’ time,” Baldwin told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

“He’s not going to be overawed with the pressure of that environment. And outside of Tomos [Williams] really, have we got the depth there to come on in those huge moments?”

Davies won 77 Wales caps during a 10-year Test career that included two British and Irish Lions tours, a Grand Slam and Six Nations title.

He has since appeared as a regular TV pundit and will be 37 by the time of the 2027 World Cup where Wales face Zimbabwe, Tonga and England in Pool F in Australia.

But Baldwin believes Wales coach Steve Tandy should consider a conversation with Davies because of his World Cup know-how.

“It’s just it’s one more year and it may not mean playing in the autumn [Nations Championship] or Six Nations. It may be, look, ‘come World Cup time, I know what you can do, I want you to be part of the squad’,” said Tandy.

Davies – the leading all-time Welsh try-scorer in the URC – was a second-half replacement for Dane Blacker against Benetton and helped inspire Scarlets’ first win of the season.

“Firstly, he did not look like a 36-year-old, he looked like someone who was out playing his first game – that’s how much it meant to him,” said Baldwin.

“That was the desperation he showed and the moment when the Scarlets needed it.

“They’re 21-7 down, you’ve got a 36-year-old scrum half coming on and the energy he brought was outstanding. I have no doubt that would have driven the energy of those players around him.”

Baldwin also believes Davies’ presence could mirror the way South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus utilised Schalk Brits in 2019 after the hooker had retired at Saracens.

Saracens’ Williams is Wales’ number one choice at half-back with rival Ospreys Keiran Hardy and Reuben Morgan-Williams also in the mix.

He said: “Tomos Williams is out and out number one [but] I challenge someone to show me a better scrum after that than Gareth Davies.

“We’re building for a World Cup next next year. I haven’t given up hope on [Wales] getting out of the group and getting into the deep stages of the knockouts with the squad.”

Baldwin also recalls the 2015 World Cup when Davies scored an iconic Welsh try as they beat England, a result that played a significant part in the hosts’ tournament downfall.

“If you look look back to the World Cup I went to. We lost our first choice 9, 15, 10, 12 and had [scrum-half] Lloyd Williams playing on the wing.

“We’re a very resilient nation and sometimes we’ve got to be a little bit smarter on the players we’ve got.

“We are missing depth in certain areas but if you can get Wales’ best 23, fit and healthy and on the pitch, they’ll always have a fighter’s chance. That’s all we really need and all we’ve probably ever had.”

Baldwin’s comments were echoed by Scarlets director of rugby Nigel Davies who hailed the scrum-half’s “superb” contribution.

He added: “Gareth has been struggling with having to sit in the wings a little bit because he’s such a competitor, but he’s getting used to actually contributing in different ways to what he’s done in the past and he came on and made a big difference.”