Stuart Evans

For the Welsh author, see Stuart Evans (author).

Stuart Evans (born 14 June 1963)^[1] is a Welsh former rugby union and rugby league player who played from the 1980s up until the early 2000s.

Stuart Evans

Birth name	Stuart Evans
Date of birth	(1963-06-14) 14 June 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth	Neath, Wales
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	17 st 7 lb (111 kg)
School	Dumbarton House School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) – British Steel () – Resolven RFC () – Swansea RFC () – Western Suburbs () – Neath RFC () – Barbarian F.C. () – FC Grenoble () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1985–87 Wales 9 (4)
Rugby league career
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1987–91 St. Helens 80 28

Evans also took up a career in coaching the game after he retired from his long and successful professional playing career, having coached up till 2019.

Playing career

Rugby union

Born in Neath in June 1963, Evans played for several rugby union clubs, including British Steel, for whom he once worked, Resolven, Swansea, Western Suburbs, Neath and Barbarian F.C.. Between 1985 and 1987, Evans played for the Wales national rugby union team on nine occasions, and played in the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

Rugby league

In September 1987, Evans switched codes to rugby league, joining St Helens.^[2]

Evans appeared as an substitute (replacing Prop Peter Souto) in St Helens' 15–14 victory over Leeds in the 1987–88 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1987–88 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 9 January 1988. He also came on as a substitute in St Helen's 0–27 defeat against Wigan in the 1988–89 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Return to rugby union

After leaving St Helens, Evans spent several years attempting to return to rugby union. The governing bodies at the time placed a lifetime ban on anyone who had played professional rugby league, but Evans took the case to court to have the ban overturned.^[3] He was eventually re-instated in 1995, but ruptured his achilles tendon in his first appearance for French club FC Grenoble.^[4]

References

1. Stuart Evans rugby union profile Scrum.com
2. "Stuart Evans". Saints Heritage Society. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
3. "Sporting Digest: Rugby Union". The Independent. 10 June 1994. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
4. "Injury taints Evans' belated comeback". The Independent. 7 September 1995. Retrieved 18 February 2024.

External links

• Stuart Evans at ESPNscrum
• Profile at saints.org.uk