John Hart Evans (9 April 1881 – 9 August 1959)
Scrum.com was a Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
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* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
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international 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 ...
centre who played club rugby for Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
. He won three caps for Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
during 1907.
Rugby career
Evans came to note as a rugby player when he turned out for Pontypool Thursday, a minor town team. He soon progressed to Pontypool RFC, who were at the time making a notable appearance at club level and gaining caps internationally. In 1906, Evans was one of five Pontypool players to be selected to face Paul Roos' 1906 touring South African team as part of the Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
team.[Billot (1974), pg 45.] Evans was partnered at centre for the Monmouthshire game with Pontypool teammate Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer
*Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971)
*Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...
, but Evans spent much of the game in defensive cover and he and Jones were deemed out of form against the much faster Springboks.[Billot (1974), pg 45-48.] The game ended in a 17-0 defeat for Monmouthshire.
Just a few months after the South Africa game, Evans won his first international cap for Wales when he was brought in as centre for the opening game of the 1907 Home Nations Championship
The 1907 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fifth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 12 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Although not official ...
. Partnered with Rhys Gabe
Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe (22 June 1880 – 15 September 1967) born as Rees Thomas Gape,Jenkins (1991), pg 60. was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a c ...
, Evans was given the difficult task of replacing one of the most inventive and loved centres in Welsh rugby history. The 1907 campaign started well, with a convincing win over England, and the Welsh selectors responded by keeping faith with Evans for the next two games of the tournament. Wales suffered a narrow loss to Scotland, but responded with a large victory over Ireland. Despite playing in a successful Championship campaign, Evans was dropped the next season in favour of the more experienced Billy Trew
Billy Trew (1 July 1878 – 20 August 1926) was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of the key players of the first Golden Age of ...
, and never represented his country again.
International matches played
Wales[Smith (1980), pg 473.]
* 1907
* 1907
* 1907
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, John Hart
1881 births
1959 deaths
Monmouthshire County RFC players
Pontypool RFC players
Rugby union centres
Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh rugby union players