Will Jarrod get chance to give Wales coaches what they want this summer?
HE is one of the most gifted players with ball in hand in Europe and, on his day, he can absolutely rip defences apart.
Yet Jarrod Evans has just six Wales caps to his name and hasn’t played international rugby in 15 months.
The task facing the 24-year-old half-back now is convincing Wayne Pivac he is ready for another crack at No. 10 during this summer’s internationals against Argentina and Canada, with Dan Biggar away with the Lions. Therein lies a balancing act.
It’s about demonstrating he can control a game and play the percentages, but not at the expense of the instinctive attacking threat which sets him apart, with his killer sidestep, his eye for a gap and sleight of hand.
Omitted altogether from Wales’ autumn squad, he was recalled for the 2021 Six Nations, but amid suggestions he might have missed out again if Pivac had been allowed to select Bath’s Cardiff-bound Rhys Priestland.
As it was, Evans did not feature at all during the title-winning Championship campaign, with Biggar and Callum Sheedy monopolising the fly-half berth.
There was no regional rugby for him for a couple of months either, as he was retained in camp, with his England-based rivals returning to their clubs during fallow weeks.
“It’s been a pretty stop-start season, with Covid and everything like that into it as well,” he reflects
“[In] the autumn I didn’t get selected, then I get a good run of games for my club and feel like I’m going in the right direction.
“Then I go eight weeks without a game with the Six Nations.
“Although I didn’t get the gametime, I thought that was a good period for me, working alongside Neil Jenkins, Dan and Callum.
“But it’s eight weeks without a game, so I had to try and build my way back into it and we went pretty much straight into a big European match against London Irish.”
His challenge now is responding to what the Wales coaches want to see from him as he completes the season with Cardiff Blues.
“I got a fair bit of feedback from Stephen [Jones] and Jenks around certain parts of my game,” he said.
“A lot of my game, I think they are fairly happy with, but I just need to keep on top of certain areas.
“That’s what’s going to take me to the next level.
“It’s a case of trying to work on the things they want me to work on and take that forward with my club.
“Hopefully I can demonstrate that during these three games we have left in the Rainbow Cup.
“Every time you take the field you are going to get judged and the Wales coaches are looking at what you are doing.
“So, it’s important you perform. “Then, hopefully, with the internationals in the summer, I might get a chance to prove myself there.”
So, what exactly does he need to work on?
One aspect people have pointed to as an area for improvement is his tactical kicking out of hand.
Does he feel that’s a fair comment?
“Yes and no,” he replies.
“Do I agree with some of the comments? Potentially, yeah.
“But sometimes it can get a lot more hyped than what people think it is.
“Maybe at times, when I was growing up, the scales were tipped one way rather than the other.
“I will just do as the coaches are telling me. They are only doing it to make me a better player, so I will take those messages on board.”
So, is he good at taking constructive criticism?
“Yeah, I am actually,” he says. “It’s for your benefit and that’s what you’ve always got to keep in mind.
“They are not going to say it if they didn’t think there was something for you to work on.
“I want to keep on top of all aspects of my game, but I will put a little bit more focus into the ones they want me to.
“It’s about balance, I think. “You can’t neglect what got you here either.”
■ Cardiff Blues and Wales centre Owen Lane’s domestic season is over after receiving a three-week ban for a red card he received last weekend.
During the Blues’ narrow victory over Dragons on Sunday, Lane was sent off for tackling Dragons’ Gonzalo Bertranou high, making direct contact to the scrum-half’s head.
The red card carried an entry point of a six-week ban which was cut in half to three weeks due to a ‘range’ of unspecified mitigating factors. It means Lane is suspended from playing in the Blues’ next three meaningful matches against the Scarlets, Munster and Zebre.
He would be available for all of Wales’ summer fixtures provided that none of the region’s remaining fixtures are cancelled for any reason.
Similarly, Dragons hooker Rhys Lawrence has also received a three -match ban for a red card in the same game.