Despite the winless autumn series - of which the 24-year-old missed the Samoa and Argentina defeats through injury - Davies was one of the few bright spots and looks likely to spearhead Wales' charge towards retaining their Six Nations crown.
But it won't be an easy task. The seven-game Test losing streak is difficult to ignore and Davies admits the absence of head coach Warren Gatland could take its toll.
Although clouds appear to be darkening the international skies, the centre at least has the comfort of seeing in 2013 with his club in second place in the RaboDirect PRO12 standings this term.
And Davies, who has relished the Scarlets captaincy role over recent weeks, sees his growing influence in both the Scarlets and Wales ranks as reason to take responsibility into his own hands.
"For me 2012 as been a good year, a tough one but I've enjoyed every minute of it," he said.
"I'm playing rugby with a smile on my face and that's all that matters because I love what I do.
"Being given the captaincy of the Scarlets is a huge honour, particularly given the size of the club.
"At the end of last season we finished fifth, but this season we started positively and find ourselves in a good position in the league - we have to kick on in 2013 though and solidify that position.
"We want to climb over that hurdle from last season and that means getting in the top four this season.
"Obviously the autumn results [with Wales] were a tough pill to swallow, but there were some positives to take from the last two games [against New Zealand and Australia].
"Retaining the Six Nations will be a tough ask, a lot of teams will be fancying their chances but we've got to make sure we do our job.
"Warren [Gatland's] presence will be missed, but we have some great people on board and we should be able to cope.
"It falls onto the more senior players to step up and take a bit more responsibility with Warren being away."
The lofty RaboDirect PRO12 position Scarlets find themselves in could have been looking rosier had they not suffered a 32-3 derby defeat to Ospreys on Boxing Day.
Had they won at the Liberty Stadium, this Friday's clash against top-of-the-table Ulster could have seen Simon Easterby's troops leapfrog the men from Ravenhill at the summit with a win.
But despite seeing the Irish outfit suffer their first defeat of the season against Munster on Saturday, Davies is under no illusions at the task at hand.
"The challenge that Ulster pose is a tough ask," added Davies. "I have to say I've been very impressed by Ulster this season though, they have been playing some very good stuff and they have a good mix to their game which is always difficult to play against.
"It's a big game on Friday, but we have just got to concentrate on staying in those top two positions at the end of the season.
"We're very disappointed [with the defeat against Ospreys], we put a lot of effort and pride into the derbies and take it very seriously, so to come away with a defeat like that is disappointing.
"I thought we played well, we just didn't execute as well as we had hoped and got punished. We're looking forward [to putting it right]."
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