"I never thought I'd be back"- Fly half Jarrod Evans thankful for Wales return in 2025 Six Nations
Today at 05:36 AM
Harlequins Jarrod Evans has been given another chance on the international stage in this year's Guinness Men’s Six Nations, having not playing for Wales since 2021.
He was overlooked by both Wayne Pivac and Warren Gatland during that time, but in two defeats to Ireland and Scotland the 28-year-old has come off the bench on both occasions.
Find your local Greene King and settle in to the Six Nations!
"I never thought I'd be back on the international stage again," insisted Evans who was called up by interim head coach, Matt Sherratt.
"You keep putting in the work and the hours in rugby and it can all change very quickly, as we've seen. I'm just pretty happy and grateful to be back out there."
"But when I got on the field, I enjoyed it personally. We talked about having a big start. We knew Scotland would come out the blocks. We didn't quite manage to do that. Obviously, it's a tough result but we managed to make it look respectable."
Evans who now plays in the Gallagher Premiership with Harlequins, joined the English based side back in 2022 after leaving Cardiff. However, he left the Cardiff Arms Park side with only eight international caps which meant he was unable to play for Wales as he didn't have 25 caps.
Under the Professional Rugby Board's law on the 25-cap ruling, it states a player can remain eligible for Wales if he is not offered a regional side contract or has been low balled with a new offer.
When asked about the phone call he had with the interim head coach, Sherratt, he said: "Like I said, I didn't think it was going to happen. I've had two stints with Jockey and I'm grateful he called me back in.
"The emotions initially were strange because I'd been out of the squad for such a long period. I was just so over the moon I could help the boys and the team in some way. Hopefully, moving forward, we can grow and develop.
He came on for Gareth Anscombe at Murrayfield, and made an immediate impact by vastly improving Wales' attack, and that was telling after his helping hand in Ben Thomas's try on 60 minutes.
He added two conversions from tee but ultimately the first 40 minutes cost his side, as Scotland narrowly won 35-29.
"We were chasing our tails obviously so it would have been quite easy to fall into the trap of playing a lot of rugby against that defence," added Evans.
"They're a well-organised team. They've got a very good contact area which caused us a lot of problems today. I thought when we had a mindset of moving the ball a little bit more, we had some pay along with some tired bodies come the end of the game.
The 28-year-old will be looking to go head-to-head with his Harlequins teammate, Marcus Smith in their final game of the Six Nations at Principality Stadium. "We're good mates off the field so I'll be looking forward to seeing him next week," admitted Evans.
"I'll probably speak to him before the game. We speak quite regular anyway, so I'll drop him a message."
England will head to the Welsh capital still in contention of picking up silverware after their 47-24 win over Italy on Sunday afternoon.
On facing Steve Borthwick's England side Saturday, he added: "Back at the Principality, I think it's important the group stays positive.
"It wasn't the result we wanted today. But I thought there were a lot of positives last week and this week which we can take and improve on going into next week.
"We're going out there, even last week, believing we can win and I think it's important we keep that belief and positivity in Welsh rugby and amongst the team.
"There is no reason why we can't. We were one score away this week and similar last week. We're not a million miles off. I think it's important we keep believing and keep positive."
EDITORS PICKS:
- Competition: A chance to roar the Lions on down under in Sydney and Melbourne!
- England Player Ratings vs Italy: 2025 Six Nations
- "Ollie Lawrence ACL Injury" – 5 Things You Missed: England 47-24 Italy
- 2025 Six Nations Team of the Week: Round 4
- England fans left STRANDED at Twickenham after POLICE INCIDENT halts trains
QUIZ: Can You Name the England XV that Won the 2020 Six Nations?
England last won the Six Nations in 2020, in what was a crowning achievement during the Eddie Jones era. Coming off the back of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final heartbreak, England bounced back to win their seventh Six Nations title since the competition’s Italian expansion in 2000.
England secured the trophy with a win in Rome, as they handed Italy a one-sided 34-5 bonus point defeat. We are challenging you to remember who started for England that day, as the match was played in front of an empty stadium during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
You have five minutes to provide your answers, good luck!
The post "I never thought I'd be back"- Fly half Jarrod Evans thankful for Wales return in 2025 Six Nations appeared first on Ruck.
