Wales' Rugby World Cup campaign ended at the quarter-final stage, but the emergence of scrum-half Gareth Davies was a real silver lining according to former captain Ryan Jones.

Warren Gatland’s squad was dogged by injuries throughout the autumn and among the absentees was Rhys Webb, ruled out on the eve of the tournament.

It made Wales’ challenge of emerging from the ‘Pool of Death’ with Australia and England even tougher, yet Davies – awaiting his first start for Wales before the World Cup – was among those to step up to the plate.

A memorable victory against England, which effectively knocked out the hosts, gave reason for cheer.

And Jones believes Davies can not only begin to rival Webb for the No9 jersey for years to come, but has the potential to grow into one of the finest scrum-halves in world rugby.

“He’d hardly played much rugby and not much top-flight rugby but he didn’t look out of place,” said Jones, who won 75 Wales caps.

“He could go on and be one of the very best. He will learn from the experience of the World Cup and he just needs to keep developing personally and professionally."

“He has got the skill set, it’s just about refining them."

“He’s very much going to be a part of the future success of Wales and he has a very bright future."

“It’s going to be really interesting watching the battle between him and Rhys.”

Defeat for Wales to South Africa on Saturday night means their wait to reach a first Rugby World Cup final goes on for four more years at least.

But Jones, who was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals in 2011, believes there were plenty of positives that head coach Gatland can take away once the dust has settled.

“It was bitterly disappointing that Wales lost on Saturday but it was still a great effort from the lads,” added Jones, who was talking at an SSE Rugby House Party, where he surprised one lucky customer and watched a World Cup quarter-final in their living room.

“The guys played with such courage and they gave so much to the cause."

“South Africa probably did enough to win but it’s hard to take still, as the players’ World Cups are over. We couldn’t have asked for any more from them."

“It’s difficult to pick out one particular player who impressed as they all did such a great job. I think Alun (Wyn Jones) played very well, Luke Charteris, Sam Warburton, Faletau, Dan Biggar. They are stepped up.”

SSE is proud co-sponsor of ITV’s coverage of Rugby World Cup 2015. Visit ssereward.com to access advance entertainment tickets for The SSE Hydro, The SSE Arena Wembley and The SSE Arena Belfast up to 48 hours before general sale, subject to availability and terms and conditions.