| Birth name | Ian Richard Evans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1984-10-04)4 October 1984 (age 40) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.04 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 18 st 6 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Blaengwawr Comprehensive School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ian Evans (born 4 October 1984) is a formerWales internationalrugby union player[2] He was part of the coaching staff of theDragons RFC, joining in 2018, until his departure in January 2020.[3]
Evans was born inJohannesburg, South Africa. He was brought up inAberdare, and began playing his rugby atAbercwmboi RFC and then moved toPontypridd RFC once he was eligible for senior rugby. He quickly made his mark upon Wales' Age-Grade selectors with a succession of athletic and promising performances for the Valleys' team. Joining up withSwansea RFC in 2004, he progressed through the internal system to play for theOspreys in theCeltic League andHeineken Cup, and has played for thenational team. His usual position was atlock. He was the tallest member of thenational team at 2.03 meters, but has since been demoted to 2nd tallest with the inclusion ofLuke Charteris.
He represented Wales at both under-19 and under-21 levels. Evans made hisCeltic League debut againstMunster as a replacement in September 2005. He also made hisHeineken Cup debut againstLeicester. He made his debut for Wales in June 2004, playing in two Tests againstArgentina, scoring atry in the first game. Evans then went on to start 3 of Wales' 4 matches in the2006 Autumn internationals including the match againstNew Zealand. He was due to make his comeback from long-term injury versus the Pumas in a World Cup warm-up game in Cardiff but suffered a further setback, damaging his collar bone.
After an impressive2013 Six Nations Championship, where Evans played an important role in Wales' second successive title, he was selected for the2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. However he would not feature in any of the Lions test matches. Evans missed the2014 Six Nations Championship through suspension after the lock stamped on Leinster's Mike McCarthy in a Heineken cup game.[4]
On 27 November 2013, Evans initially signed a three-year contract to join top French teamToulon in theTop 14.[5] However, the deal fell through and instead he signed for English clubBristol Rugby, despite Bristol competing in theRFU Championship.[6] Ian was appointedTreorchy RFC first team coach along with Andrew Bishop for the 2016/2017 season and also for 2017/2018 season.[7]
In 2017, Evans retired due to an injury and upon medical advice from his Doctor.[8] Evans recently coached his home club Abercwmboi RFC.