Evans aims to put on a variety show for the fans
AMBITIOUS fly-half Lloyd Evans says Gloucester will happily eschew a slavish kicking game if his side keep racking up thrilling victories like last week’s over Wasps.
Gloucester head into today’s home clash with Harlequins buzzing after their stylish five-try 40-24 defeat of last season’s Premiership finalists –a performance in which they bucked current trends by launching the ball skywards just 21 times.
Evans told The Rugby Paper: “In all teams there are so many strong back rowers and guys in all positions who are so good over the ball, so you’ve got to be really accurate at the breakdown and play from the right places if you’re not going to be turned over.
“It’s interesting the way the game’s going but you’ve just got to get the balance right in certain situations, vary your game and show you can employ different ways of attacking while retaining possession and putting pressure on your opponents as well.
“Some situations warrant more kicking and at other times you’ll keep ball in hand, but having a varied game is important. Against Wasps we put in a strong, physical performance that allowed us to open up parts of our game we’re traditionally very good at.
“Our attacking game was good but it was also nice to see our set-piece going well and we scored a couple of tries from there as well. We got the balance right and it was a big win over Wasps that we needed after a disappointing first performance at Leicester.”
Having led Gloucester superbly after being handed the No.10 jersey ahead of Danny Cipriani, local boy Evans, 24, feels ready to fulfil his potential.
Wrist and knee injuries have hampered the former England U20s man, but Evans was handed a contract extension in October and will now challenge Cipriani’s pre-eminence as he thrives under the tutelage of ex-Wasps and England schemer, Alex King.
Evans said: “Kingy was an excellent player himself and it’s been brilliant for me to pick his brains since he arrived in the summer. I remember watching him play in that great Wasps team and he was a pretty successful game-manager.
“Accurate game-management is such an important part of things these days and I feel very fortunate to have a coach like him who can look over games with me from a fly-half ’s perspective. That relationship is working very well for us right now.”
As for his chances of ousting Cipriani permanently, something being mooted among the Kingsholm faithful, Evans adds: “I tend not to listen to that stuff, I just try to improve my game whilst enjoying the process of getting to where I am.
“Competition is important in any squad and we’ve got a lot of talented players in all positions, especially at 10. As fly-halves, we spend a lot of time together practising after training and reviewing and analysing, so we’ve built up good relationships and are developing each other.
“I was happy with how I finished last season and I’ve just looked to continue that by working really hard on my game. I enjoy that hard work and then you’ve just got to be open to opportunities when they come, as they are now.”
Harlequins will be oozing confidence after their thrashing of Northampton, but Evans says: “We’re all looking forward to it, especially after last week when we provided a taste of what we can do.
“Quins upped their game against Saints so it’s an exciting match-up and it’ll be great to be playing in front of supporters again at Kingsholm.”