ALL THE BUILD-UP TO TODAY’S BIG GAME:
IT doesn’t seem all that long ago that Rhys Priestland went from third-choice fly-half weeks out from the 2011 Rugby World Cup to the man who made Warren Gatland’s side tick as they reached the semi-finals.
Priestland had been a late call-up for Wales’ warm-up with England after Stephen Jones had pulled out of the clash with a strained calf muscle. The rest is history.
After a somewhat bumpy Test career, Priestland is no longer involved with Wales after being usurped by Dan Biggar.
And as Wales welcome England to Cardiff once more for a World Cup warm-up, there could be a similar story brewing to the one that was first told eight years ago.
Jarrod Evans, Biggar’s deputy today, was just 15 when Priestland broke through to lead Wales to the last four of the World Cup in New Zealand – but there are some striking parallels.
Both made their Wales debuts with late cameos against Scotland in the year preceding the World Cup and both went into the training camps as a longshot for selection.
Yet, just as Priestland got his chance when Scarlets team-mate Jones pulled up on the Twickenham turf before a ball had been kicked, Evans might now have a golden opportunity thanks in part to the unfortunate and untimely injury to Gareth Anscombe.
The young Cardiff Blues playmaker now has the chance to stake his claim for a plane ticket to Japan – but just what would he bring to the Welsh team if he does indeed match Priestland’s meteoric rise?
WHAT IS HE LIKE?
“HE’S a bit different, he’s not a safe conservative type, he’ll roll the dice and that’s what the Wales back-line needs.”
The words of his regional coach, John Mulvihill, just before Evans made his international debut in last year’s autumn internationals.
It’s hard to argue with the Australian on that front.
The 23-year-old has an exciting box of tricks at his disposal when it comes to getting a backline firing.
He has the most desirable of traits that an attacking fly-half can possess – the ability to drift across the pitch while keeping his body square.
That allows him to get to outside shoulders, suck defenders in and create mismatches.
And with his range of passing, ability to take the ball to the line and surprising turn of pace, it means he can often turn those mismatches and gaps into linebreaks.
Evans was integral when the Cardiff Blues won the Challenge Cup, starting the majority of matches at 10, with Anscombe at 15.
It was ability to cut defences to shreds with late decisions that set him apart on the road to Bilbao that season.
When he gets his chance in the warm-ups, expect something similar.
WHAT ARE HIS WORK-ONS?
BOTH his regional and international coach have mentioned his kicking game as something he needs to work on.
More specifically, his long-range kicking is what they were alluding to. Mulvihill flagged it up at the start of last season and Gatland also referred to it.
His short-range kicking game is good, even if the young fly-half is still learning when best to use it.
Again, that was something that Mulvihill had alerted him to last year. So too his run-pass ratio.
“His depth when he carries, how to slow his feet down when heading into contact and when to double pump. He’s still adding little things to his game,” added Mulvihill at the start of last season.
Defensively, some might raise a
question or two given his diminutive nature.
However, Evans is deceptively strong.
“He works very hard,” said Mulvihill last August.
“Very hard in the gym, he’s one of the strongest in there. He always does his extras before and after training and doesn’t load manage himself in and out, he’s always there for the whole 60 or 80 minutes of training.”
WHAT DOES WARREN GATLAND THINK?
GATLAND dedicated a sizable amount of his pre-match press conference to Evans - with the indication being he has been showing what he can do on the training pitch.
“We have been really impressed with Jarrod and that’s why he’s got the nod with having an opportunity at the weekend,” the Wales coach told the media.
“He’s very good in his attacking play but he needs to do a lot of work on his kicking.
“That’s one aspect of his game he would admit isn’t, probably at international level, quite where it needs to be so he’s been working really hard with Neil Jenkins (Wales kicking coach) on his out-of-hand kicking.
“From an attacking aspect at training he’s looked one of the sharpest of our 10s and we want to see how he can potentially impose himself coming off the bench this weekend.”
Previously, Gatland had indicated he wanted to see 18 months of consistently good performances from Evans before he gave him a chance at Test level.
The Kiwi doesn’t exactly do romanticism and what is best for Wales and Evans would have been at the forefront of his mind.
However, Priestland had also impressed with his attacking game in training camp before getting his chance in 2011 and the injury of Anscombe could well force a similar situation.
WHAT COULD HE BRING TO THE WALES ATTACK?
EVANS is a student of the game – constantly discussing rugby and what he sees on the field in great depth.
He is also a big fan of rugby league and you can see that in the way he plays with how he brings runners into the game. With Anscombe out of the picture, Wales will likely lean harder in their gameplan built on efficiency and execution – with Biggar’s combative nature and stunning kick retention key points in that plan.
But if Gatland is looking for something a little different off the bench should Wales be chasing a game, then Evans is your man.