Eric Evans, (1 February 1921 – 12 January 1991) was the captain of the England rugby union team from 1956 to 1958.

Early life

Evans was born on Edge Lane in

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

and attended Audenshaw Grammar School. He first played for Old Aldwinians RUFC in the late 1930s and during the war joined Sale RUFC. After the war he qualified as a sports master at the then

Loughborough College Loughborough College is a general further education college located in Leicestershire, England which offers a range of courses including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and professional qualifications. List of princip ...

, later joining Openshaw Technical College in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England career

Evans was awarded his first England cap in 1948, becoming best known as a hooker. In 1956 he was named England captain at the age of 34, the oldest player to lead England, and in 1957 led his country to their first

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

since 1928. At the end of the 1957-8 season, he retired from international rugby, having been capped 30 times. Under his captaincy England won nine of their thirteen games.

Post international career

Evans continued to play for Sale after his international retirement, finishing his playing career with them in the 1962-3 season. He was chairman of Old Aldwinians RUFC from 1957 to 1959 and president from 1960 to 1966. In 1967, Evans become the first president of the Glengarth Sevens at Davenport Rugby Club, a position that he held for 21 years.

Honours

On 15 June 1982, he received the Member of the Order of the British Empire from Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace. This award was for his career in Rugby Union Football and charitable work for the disabled at the Glengarth home for disabled children.Blue Plaque for Eric Evans
tameside.gov.uk

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Eric 1921 births 1991 deaths Alumni of Loughborough University England international rugby union players English rugby union players Lancashire County RFU players Loughborough Students RUFC players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Droylsden Sale Sharks players Rugby union hookers