Good to be back: Evans relishes his return to action
SATURDAY’S Premiership Cup defeat by Worcester Warriors was one to put out of their minds for most of Tigers’ players on duty that day.
Openside flanker Will Evans is one of the exceptions, writes Paul Jones.
The game marked his return to action after a lengthy layoff as he recovered from knee surgery.
The 21-year-old tore a lateral meniscus in his right knee as last season drew to a close and he has been working his way back to fitness since. The 44 minutes he played against Worcester, then, were highly significant.
“It has taken a while,” he said. “It is five or six months since I last MANU Tuilagi’s imminent England comeback in time to face New Zealand at Twickenham has had a calming effect on Eddie Jones’s underdogs, according to Ben Youngs.
Tuilagi was due to make his first international appearance in two years in the 12-11 victory over South Africa that opened the Quilter Internationals, only to withdraw from the bench because of a minor groin strain.
But the Leicester centre, whose career has been ravaged by a succession of groin, knee and hamstring injuries, has trained fully this week and is included in a 25man squad to continue preparations for the headline fixture of the autumn.
Four years ago he scattered the All Blacks with a rampaging display in a famous 38-21 victory at Twickenham and Youngs – his Tigers colleague – is eager for him to make his mark once again.
“I was gutted when he pulled out, but it was a tiny niggle, said Youngs. “If it had happened on the Monday he would have probably been all right, but with someone like him, it was not worth risking.
“It’s great to see him running around in training. I’m really pleased he’s able to get back out there. He’s looking good.
“We know what a world-class operator Manu is. It settles down the boys to know that he’s there.”
Tom Curry has been ruled out of played, so it was good to blow the cobwebs away – and there were certainly a few cobwebs. I dropped a few balls and my decision making wasn’t the best but hopefully the more I play the better I will get.”
Tigers supporters will be delighted to see another Leicester academy product back in the mix – Evans has become a firm favourite since making his first-team bow towards the end of the 2015-16 season.
Even if his return came in the Premiership Cup, it was a major step forward for Evans. “I haven’t been so nervous probably since I made my first appearance,” he admitted. “I knew my knee was going to be sound because I had done everything to get back in the quickest time possible. Despite the result I enjoyed getting out there again.”
The immediate job now is for Evans and his colleagues to get back on track after the poor display against Worcester when they face Sale Sharks tomorrow night.
“You can’t be down in the dumps and have that in the back of your mind when you are playing on Friday night, otherwise you will never get over it,” Evans said. “We have been working hard to correct what we did wrong and hopefully the fans will see a much better performance on Friday.”