Jack Evans (rugby, Born 1871)
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John Evans (23 February 1871 – 19 July 1924) was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
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 ...
forward who later 'went North', switching to the professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
code. Evans played for several teams, but is most notable for playing club rugby for
Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...
, and international rugby 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 ...
.


Rugby career

Evans first played club rugby for his hometown club of
Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...
, before switching to first class Welsh club Llanelli. It was while representing Llanelli that Evans was first selected to play for Wales, in the second game of the
1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...
. Evans came into a pack along with four other new caps, a reaction by the Welsh selectors to the terrible defeat by England in the previous game. The new players were chosen for their rough physical style of play, and were dubbed '
Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...
forwards' after the tough coal playing men from that area. The initial decision worked, with Wales winning 6-0 against Scotland at the
Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
. Evans was reselected for the third and final game of the Championship, an away game to Ireland. This time the new forward strategy was not successful with the Irish kick-and-rush tactics, and Wales lost 4-8. Despite the loss Evans was re-selected for the only game Wales played in the
1897 Home Nations Championship The 1897 Home Nations Championship was the fifteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Four matches were played between 9 January and 13 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales only completed one ...
. The match saw Wales beat England by a record amount, but due to the Gould affair, Wales left the
International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
, and could not play in any further international games. In 1897, Evans moved to the Rhondda where he joined valley team
Llwynypia Llwynypia ( cy, Llwynypia ) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom betwee ...
,Smith (1980), pg 108. although not a 'Rhondda forward' when first capped for Wales, by the time his international career had ended he was a Rhondda collier. When the next Wales international was played, Evans' position was taken by
Hopkin Davies Hopkin Davies was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and was capped for the Wales international team on four occasions.
, and Evans was not selected to play for Wales again. It is recorded that Evans eventually switched codes, to professional rugby leagueAmmanford RFC history
/ref> joining Swinton RLFC in October 1897, as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
(prior to the specialist positions of; ), during the era of contested
scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...
s. Both of his sons, Jack and Bryn played rugby league during the 1920s and 1930s.Jenkins (1991), pg 54.


International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 465. * 1897 * 1896 * 1896


Bibliography

* * * *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Jack 1871 births 1924 deaths Ammanford RFC players Llanelli RFC players Llwynypia RFC players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Carmarthenshire Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Ammanford Swinton Lions players Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players