Jay Davies beats two world champs at The Box

Words by Lucas Townsend | Photos: WSL Jay Davies has been the best story of the Margaret River Pro so far. Three days ago he beat young Jack Robinson in the trials to enter the main draw. As wildcards do they draw the highest seeds and yesterday Jay sent a dishevelled Gabriel Medina out in round two. He then went and starred in an “it” session at North Point before nightfall, all to wake this morning and cart ratings-leader Mick Fanning out of the draw too. Better yet, he’s having more fun than anyone else doing it! Some’d say Jay is one of the most underrated surfers in the biz. We’d disagree. Because a performance like we’ve seen this week, in front of the millions of webcast viewers tuned in, is exposure of the greatest kind. Here’s how Jay saw today play out. Stab: Is this the giant killer? Jay Davies: (Laughs) Well, yeah, that’s what everyone’s saying. Gabriel Medina yesterday. Mick Fanning today. How are you doing this? I’m just really comfortable. It’s been amazing waves in West Oz, right now. We’re surfing The Box and it’s not every day you get to ride one of your favourite reefs with one other guy out. I’ve been confident, and I’ve known what I’ve needed to do. This morning when you beat Mick, it looked kind perfect. Yeah, this morning was so glorious. It was champagne hour when I hit the water. It was slow between waves but you could tell when they were coming. You just had to have faith and hope that something was going to come in time. I’ve made a few errors in the last few heats, but I made sure I picked the best waves I could against Mick. I got lucky with priority today. You and Mick are good pals, but was it different in jerseys? It was tense at the start. But as soon as we started getting those first barrels it all got washed off. It was a really good place to be, it was a clear as it gets, and we even shook hands half way through the heat. I said to Mick, “Dude this is as good as it gets, I’m stoked either way!” Mick said, “Me too.” Next thing I know I’m dropping into a six footer and it’s blowing me out and I got the score I needed. Were you surprised when you made that 9.5? I didn’t put any doubt in myself. I was committed 100 percent. I knew the wave was going to give me the score I needed, I didn’t know how good it was going to be, but I knew I was getting the 5 or 6 I needed. The wave was as good as you can get out there, and definitely the best one I’d seen before my heat. Did you feel bad for ripping the yellow jersey off Mick’s back? Yeah, I felt bad. He said congratulations mate, I’m stoked for you. He gave me a high-five, we kinda cuddled and I was like, commiseration’s, I’m sorry for knocking you out of the world title race for now, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. He was all good. I actually felt bad when I beat Gabriel too, but I think I’ve got to stop feeling that way. Tell us about the Gabriel heat yesterday. I didn’t feel pressure from him. I felt like I’d won it before he’d even paddled out. He was so negative towards The Box. He’d lost the heat before he’d even put the jersey on. I was running out to get the ski out, and he was still jacket on, shoes on, and he wasn’t even focusing on surfing The Box. If he was confident over there, and a gave a few more props to the wave, he probably would’ve done really well. It freaks me out when the goofy footers all neg-out on it, when it’s a wave they go do equally as well on. You’ve just got to do the time and study it. Equipment. I rode my standard shorty with a round-tail, a Chilli Fader, 6’1”. What happens when you have to do turns to win? I can’t wait. Main break looked so fun this arvo. I can’t wait to get on a longer board. I’m psyched for anything. Whats your impression of the WSL operation? It’s pretty daunting. I can tell everyone who’s been there a while has their routines down. I’ve been keeping to myself and hanging with my mates, my brother, Ryan Bautista. We’ve just been mucking around and having fun and I’ve just tried to avoid putting a serious head into it all. Lastly, can you win this event? Of course.