John William Evans (26 May 1875 – 5 July 1947)
Scrum.com 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 ...

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 played club rugby for

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...

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 ...

. A collier by trade, Evans typified the style of forward player favoured by the Welsh selectors during the early 1900s.

Rugby career

Evans spent his entire rugby career with unfashionable Monmouthsire club Blaina, turning down several approaches by 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 ...

clubs to 'go North'.Jenkins (1991), pg 55. He had an immense loyalty to his home club and spent his entire life in the village where he was born. In 1904 Evans received his one and only international call-up, becoming the first player to be directly capped from Blaina RFC. Evans was brought into the Wales team to face England in the opening game of the

1904 Home Nations Championship The 1904 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 9 January and 19 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

, captained by Cardiff's

Gwyn Nicholls Erith Gwyn Nicholls (15 July 1874 – 24 March 1939)Newport RFC player profiles
was a W ...

. Evans was only one of two news caps in the Welsh squad for the encounter, the other being

David John Thomas David John Thomas (15 March 1879 – 19 October 1925) was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won ten caps for Wales and is most notable for scoring the only try in Swansea's win over South Africa i ...

from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

; both men coming into the pack. The game ended in a draw, after a late

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

from

Teddy Morgan Edward "Teddy" Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for ...

was disallowed to prevent a Welsh victory.Griffiths (1987), pg 4:11. The Welsh selectors responded by bringing in five new caps for the next match, and Evans was one of those replaced. After leaving his playing career behind, Evans became a committee man for Blaina. His family also had strong connections to the club, with his brother Alf captaining the team for two seasons, and his son Bill playing for Blaina before switching to first class team Newport. Evans died in 1947, just 100 yards from his birthplace. At his funeral, international rugby players

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Billy Gore William Gore (19 November 1919 – 13 April 2010) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Newbridge RFC, as a h ...

were among his bearers.

International matches played for Wales

WalesSmith (1980), p. 465. * 1904

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, John William 1875 births 1947 deaths Blaina RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Blaina Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh rugby union players