John Evans (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
John Raymond Evans was a Welsh
international rugby union
hooker who played club rugby for Newport. Evans joined Newport after showing promise as a Welsh Schools players, winning three caps while at Newport High School. Evans captained Newport on two occasions, once in 1935/36 season and again in 1936/37. In 1935 Evans captained Newport against the touring New Zealand team.
Evans made his one and only international appearance against England in the 1934 Home Nations Championship
, and was given the captaincy. He was one of 13 new caps to play for Wales, with only Claude Davey
and Dai Thomas
with any past international experience. Wales came a poor second, losing 9-0. The selectors were severely criticized for their choice, not only because of the teams inexperience, but also because seven of the team played their rugby outside Wales. Evans was one of five players from the Welsh team that day that became one cap wonders.
Evans was killed in action while serving his country in North Africa during the Second World War.
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...
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...
hooker who played club rugby for Newport. Evans joined Newport after showing promise as a Welsh Schools players, winning three caps while at Newport High School. Evans captained Newport on two occasions, once in 1935/36 season and again in 1936/37. In 1935 Evans captained Newport against the touring New Zealand team.
Evans made his one and only international appearance against England in the 1934 Home Nations Championship
1934 Home Nations Championship
The 1934 Home Nations Championship was the thirtieth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-seventh series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Six matches...
, and was given the captaincy. He was one of 13 new caps to play for Wales, with only Claude Davey
Claude Davey
Claude Davey was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times...
and Dai Thomas
Dai Thomas
David 'Dai' Thomas was a Welsh rugby union lock who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Swansea. During the 1934/35 season, Thomas was captain of the Swansea first XV.-Rugby career:...
with any past international experience. Wales came a poor second, losing 9-0. The selectors were severely criticized for their choice, not only because of the teams inexperience, but also because seven of the team played their rugby outside Wales. Evans was one of five players from the Welsh team that day that became one cap wonders.
Evans was killed in action while serving his country in North Africa during the Second World War.