John William Evans (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
John "Jack" William Evans (26 May 1875 – 5 July 1947) was a Welsh
rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Blaina
and international rugby for Wales
. A collier by trade, Evans typified the style of forward player favoured by the Welsh selectors during the early 1900s.
clubs to 'go North'. 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
, captained by Cardiff's
Gwyn Nicholls
. Evans was only one of two news caps in the Welsh squad for the encounter, the other being David John Thomas
from Swansea
; both men coming into the pack. The game ended in a draw, after a late try
from Teddy Morgan
was disallowed to prevent a Welsh victory. The Welsh selectors responded by bringing in five new caps for the next match, and Evans was one of those replaced.
After levaing 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 just 100 yards from his home in 1947, and at his funeral international rugby players Jack
and Billy Gore
were among his bearers.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
forward who played club rugby for Blaina
Blaina RFC
Blaina Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Blaina in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Three East league and are a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.- History :...
and international rugby for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
. 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 leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
clubs to 'go North'. 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
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
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
Gwyn Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
. Evans was only one of two news caps in the Welsh squad for the encounter, the other being David John Thomas
David John Thomas
David John Thomas 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 in 1912....
from Swansea
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
; both men coming into the pack. The game ended in a draw, after a late try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
from Teddy Morgan
Teddy Morgan
Edward "Teddy" Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and is remembered for scoring the winning try...
was disallowed to prevent a Welsh victory. The Welsh selectors responded by bringing in five new caps for the next match, and Evans was one of those replaced.
After levaing 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 just 100 yards from his home in 1947, and at his funeral international rugby players Jack
Jack Gore
Jack Gore was a Welsh international rugby flanker who played rugby union for Blaina and rugby league for Salford. His son, Billy Gore, played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team the same as his father....
and Billy Gore
Billy Gore
William "Billy" Gore was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1940s who at representative level played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Newbridge RFC, playing at Hooker, i.e. number 2, and at club level played rugby league for Warrington, playing at , i.e...
were among his bearers.