George Rosser Evans was an international 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...

 half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff

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...

 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...

. Rosser is notable for facing the touring New Zealand Māoris

1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team

The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...

, the first touring Southern Hempishere rugby team, when they lost to Cardiff in 1888.

Rugby career

Evans is most notable as a rugby player through his association with Cardiff RFC. Rosser was part of the Cardiff team that on 29 December 1888, faced and beat the New Zealand Māori rugby union team

New Zealand Maori rugby union team

New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...

. After losing to Wales, the Māoris returned stronly beating both Newport and 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...

. The final match in the Welsh leg of the tour was against Cardiff, captained by Frank Hill

Frank Hill (rugby player)

Frank Hill was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Hill won 15 caps for Wales over a period of ten years and was given the team captaincy on four occasions....

. An early try by Norman Biggs

Norman Biggs

Norman Witchell Biggs was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales, though they never played together in the same match for Wales...

 and some dodging running from Charlie Arthur

Charlie Arthur

Charles "Charlie" Suckling Arthur was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales...

 saw Cardiff beat the Māoris by a goal to nil.

At the time, the Wales half-back pairing was taken by Evans' Cardiff team-mate William Stadden

William Stadden

William James Wood "Buller" Stadden was a Welsh international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cardiff and Dewsbury. Stadden won eight caps for Wales over a period of seven years and is most remembered for scoring the winning try in 1890 to give Wales their first victory over England...

 and Newport's Charlie Thomas

Charlie Thomas (rugby player)

Charles 'Charlie' Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union utility player who played club rugby for Newport and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. Thomas won nine caps for Wales.-Rugby career:...

; both men representing Wales in the victory over the New Zealand tourists. Stadden though was unavailable for the 1889 Home Nations Championship

1889 Home Nations Championship

The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales...

 and Rosser took his place alongside Thomas in an away game to Scotland at Raeburn Place

Raeburn Place

Raeburn Place is the main street of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, and the name of the playing fields there.-Rugby:The first international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. It was won by Scotland, though England got revenge...

. The Welsh team were beaten two tries to nil and the next game, at home against Ireland, Evans was replaced by Llanelli

Llanelli RFC

Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

 half-back Giotto Griffiths

Giotto Griffiths

Griffith 'Giotto' Griffiths was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.-Rugby career:...

. It would be Evans one and only international cap.