Richard Lloyd "Ricky" Evans (born 23 June 1960) is a former

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 ...

player.

History

Born in

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 a ...

Cardigan in West Wales in 1960, Ricky Evans played most of his club rugby for

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

playing in the victorious side which beat the touring

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

who were then World Champions. He was capped 19 times by

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 ...

playing at loose head prop. His debut was against England at

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 ...

in 1993, a game which Wales won 10-9. In 1994 he played in the Five Nations winning Welsh team although losing to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final game at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

a try was on the cards for Ricky, however a desperate tap tackle by

Dewi Morris Dewi Morris (born ) is a former rugby union footballer, who played scrum half for England. Morris was born in Crickhowell, Breconshire, Wales, and graduated from Crewe & Alsager College. He made his England debut in 1988, as a twenty-four yea ...

prevented a certain score, however retaining the ball and making it available Nigel Walker scored the vital try in the corner to reduce the points difference and secure the title for Wales. Despite a serious ankle injury sustained in the Five Nations match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in January 1995, he recovered fitness and went on to play in the 1995 World Cup against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. History was made in the French courts when Ricky sued

Olivier Merle Olivier Merle (born 14 November 1965 in Chamalières, Puy-de-Dôme) is a former French rugby union footballer. He played as a lock. He was known by several nicknames, including "La Merluche" and "Le Massif Central". He was known for his violent pl ...

the French lock who had caused the injury through foul play. For the first time video evidence (of the game) was accepted in a French Court. The match had been taped by his father and proved to be the turning point in the trial. Injury cut short what was a promising career at international level which may well have resulted in selection for the

British & 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 ...

1997 squad to tour

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He finished his playing career with Cardigan RFC and has played in the Bermuda Veterans Tournament being on the winning "British Lions" side against New Zealand.

Personal life

Ricky Evans is a convert to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

.Rugby star on Buddhist life
BBC News 5 January 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Ricky 1960 births Living people Converts to Buddhism Llanelli RFC players Rugby union players from Ceredigion Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh Buddhists Welsh rugby union players