Gareth Evans (born 5 August 1991) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, who currently plays as a loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

competition and the in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

Early career

Born in the town of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

(

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

) in the north-east of New Zealand to a Zimbabwean mother and a father from

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

, Evans attended

Napier Boys' High School Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13. Notable alumni Business * Rod Drury – chief execu ...

in the nearby town of Napier, where he played first XV rugby alongside future teammates

Brad Weber Brad McCormick Weber (born 17 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for in the National Provincial Championship and the in Super Rugby. Early life Brother of Napier Marist rugby player Sam Webe ...

and Ihaia West. After graduating high school, he moved south to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

to study environmental management at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

while also playing for Dunedin in the local club rugby competition.

Senior career

2011-2013

Aged just 20, Evans broke into the ITM Cup squad for the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago hosted North Harbour. It involved the top fourteen rugby uni ...

season and played all 10 games for the Razorbacks to help them to 3rd place on the Championship log, just outside of the playoff places due to the domestic season being shortened to accommodate the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. He was again in fine form in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, playing all 12 of Otago's games during a campaign that saw them make the Championship final, before being thrashed 41-16 by .

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

would prove to be his final season with the Razorbacks and it saw him score 3 times in 10 games as the men from Dunedin reached the Championship semi-finals before being defeated 29-24 by .

2014–2017

After three years of solid performances at domestic level for Otago, Evans earned a

contract with the Dunedin-based ahead of the 2014 season. He made his Super Rugby debut on 22 February 2014 against the Blues. Despite strong competition from fellow loose forwards such as

Shane Christie Shane Christie (born 23 September 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player. Early career Born in the city of Palmerston North on New Zealand's North Island, Christie was raised in the town of Nelson, on the northern tip of South Island before ...

Elliot Dixon Elliot Christopher Dixon (born 4 September 1989) is a professional rugby union player. He represents the Highlanders (rugby), Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition and Southland Rugby Football Union, Southland in the ITM Cup, playing at Rug ...

Nasi Manu Tavake Lecanus Liukanasi Manu (born 15 August 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the number 8 and occasionally flanker position for Mitre 10 Cup side, Otago. Manu also represents Tonga at international level. Playing career ...

and John Hardie, Evans acquitted himself well in his debut season of Super Rugby, playing 11 times and scoring 2 tries. Also in 2014, Evans returned home to play his provincial rugby for the Magpies, initially signing a 2-year deal to replace the departing

Mike Coman Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

and his first season back in the Bay saw him start 7 games and score 1 try to help the Magpies claim the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

and reach the

2014 ITM Cup Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

Championship final before going down 32-24 to . The

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

would prove to be memorable both for Evans, who scored 3 tries in 14 appearances, and the Highlanders, who won their maiden Super Rugby title, defeating the 21-14 in the final. Evans was named on the bench for the final as a replacement, taking part in the win. The

2015 ITM Cup Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

and

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the ...

seasons were largely a write-off for Evans. He broke his arm in the first Magpies game of the 2015 season - a successful Ranfurly Shield defence against - and suffered a season-ending knee injury during the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. These injuries restricted him to just a solitary appearance over the course of 2 years, which saw the Magpies promoted as ITM Cup Championship champions in 2015 before being relegated back to the Championship for the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

season after just a sole season in the top division. Evans' injury troubles in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

also restricted him to only 1 start and 4 appearances in total for the Highlanders, who surrendered their Super Rugby crown, losing to the in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

at the semi-final stage. Despite his injury problems over the previous 2 years, new Highlanders head-coach, Tony Brown, opted to retain Evans in his squad for his first season in charge in

. The 2017 season proved more successful for Evans, as he played 15 games for the Highlanders, including a start against the touring

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

side on 13 June 2017. Evans played the full 80 minutes against the Lions, with the Highlanders narrowly winning 23-22 in the historic fixture.

2018–2021

On 28 July 2017, the announced that the franchise had signed Evans on a 2-year deal from the

2018 Super Rugby season The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...

. Evans has become a regular starter for the Hurricanes since his arrival at the franchise. He made his debut for the Hurricanes on 25 February 2018 against the Bulls in Pretoria and scored his first try for the franchise on 30 March 2018, a 30m solo try against the Rebels as the Hurricanes beat them 50-19. Evans went on to start at openside flanker during the playoffs, with departing team-mate Blade Thomson returning from injury to take Evans' place at number 8. The Hurricanes were knocked out of the competition during the semi-finals, losing to the Crusaders 12-30. Evans finished the season as one of the best-performing players in the Hurricanes and was subsequently praised by the media for his performances. Evans captained the Magpies multiple times during the

2018 Mitre 10 Cup The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top f ...

season, alongside experienced team-mate

, with the regular Magpies captain,

Ash Dixon Ash Dixon (born 1 September 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a hooker for Green Rockets Tokatsu in the Japan Rugby League One. He formerly played for the in Super Rugby and for in New Zealand's domestic Nat ...

, ruled out for the season with injury. As co-captains, Evans and Weber lead Hawke's Bay to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. After his All Blacks debut on 3 November 2018, Evans stayed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

for a brief stint with Japanese club

NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka is a Japanese rugby union team owned by NTT DoCoMo. They qualified for the 2011–12 season and finished 12th place overall. The team rebranded in 2022, ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugb ...

for the remainder of their 2018 Top Challenge League season. He played four games for the club, including a promotion/relegation match against

Coca-Cola Red Sparks The Coca-Cola Red Sparks ( ja, コカ・コーラレッドスパークス) was a Japanese company-owned rugby union team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca- ...

, which resulted in a 33-24 win and promotion to the 2019–20 Top League for the Red Hurricanes. After his Japanese adventure, Evans returned home to rejoin the for preseason ahead of the

2019 Super Rugby season The 2019 Super Rugby season was the 24th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The 2019 season was the second season using the ...

. In 2020, Evans had a successful season with , helping the Magpies win the

, retain the Shield in three challenges and win the

2020 Mitre 10 Cup The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the fifteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour hosted Canterbury. It involved the top ...

Championship title.

2022–

On 1 November 2021, the announced that Evans would return to

, where his professional career started, and join his brother Bryn at the franchise for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

International career

After a successful 2018 season, Evans was selected in the wider squad for the All Blacks' 2018 Northern Tour to Japan and Europe. He made his international debut for New Zealand on 3 November 2018 against Japan. Evans replaced Patrick Tuipulotu in the 54th minute of the test and performed well, setting up a try for his former Highlanders team-mate

Waisake Naholo Waisake Ratunideuba Naholo (born 8 May 1991 Sigatoka, Fiji) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He previously played for the All Blacks Sevens and on the wing (and occasionally centre) position for London Irish. In May 2022 he signed with Rugby ...

. The All Blacks defeated Japan 69-31.

Career honours

Highlanders *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Hawke's Bay * ITM Cup Championship -

* Mitre 10 Cup Championship -

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links

*
NZ Rugby History player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gareth 1991 births Living people New Zealand people of Zimbabwean descent People educated at Napier Boys' High School University of Otago alumni New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand Rugby union number eights NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka players