Evans: Brown is a freak of nature
IAN Evans is backing the Dragons’ young forwards to form the backbone of Wales’ pack for years to come.
The former Ospreys lock and 2013 British & Irish Lions tourist was recently appointed assistant forwards coach and Under-23 coach with the Gwent region.
Evans believes the likes of Leon Brown, Elliott Dee and Ollie Griffiths will all become international stars of the future.
“I think the Dragons without a doubt have the making of a future Wales pack,” he told The Rugby
Paper. “If you look at Leon he’s 125kg (19st 7lbs) and he’s like a freak of nature in training.
“He, Elliott and Ollie all have massive potential, but we need to make sure as coaches they keep improving so they can put themselves in the international selection window.
“I was watching the boys train in the heat last week doing their circuits and the condition of the forwards was immense. We have some real athletes in the pack who looked superhuman.
“It’s about getting the right balance between experience and youth to bring these players through.
“Luckily enough we have got a bit of experience in our pack with guys like Ross Moriarty and Richard Hibbard who are Lions and Aaron Jarvis who is also very experienced.”
After years of underachievement and winning just two Guinness PRO14 games last season, the Dragons are determined to climb the table this term.
Evans is confident Bernard Jackman’s side will improve drastically over the course of the season to come after some impressive summer recruitment.
He said: “Everybody has got a positive vibe and a great work ethic in preseason training. We really want to get rid of the stigma associated with the Dragons.
“I think we can kick on this season. I think people need to be realistic about where the Dragons were at prior to the Welsh Rugby Union takeover in terms of their funding.
“But Bernard has recruited very strongly and is trying to create competition within the squad. This is his first real season because he’s got his hands on the players he wanted.”