Jinkin’ up the M4

There have been times over the last six or seven years when hauling myself to the Arms Park on a cold night in February has seemed like a chore. A duty as a season ticket holder rather than an event to be looked forward to.

More often than not though, the pull has been to see one man; Jinkin’ Jarrod Evans.

Fan favourites have always had certain attributes that mark them out as popular on the terraces beyond just being quality players; the longevity of a Fa’ao Filise, the leadership of a Josh Turnbull, the relentlessness of a Josh Navidi, the consistency of a Rey Lee-Lo or the big game plays of a Josh Adams.

For fly-half Evans though it’s the sheer electricity of how he plays the game. The unpredictability of what he can produce with ball-in-hand. That special talent that sees him unsure of what he’s going to do next, never mind the opposition or the supporters, is a trait that would lead me to pay good money to watch him play week-in, week-out.

In his eight years in the first team at Cardiff, Jarrod Evans has consistently captivated the attention of supporters at the Arms Park and across Europe with his side stepping, change of pace, handling skills and attacking kicking game.

You can think back to Worcester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2017, Lyon in the Challenge Cup in 2018 and Cheetahs in the then-Pro14 in 2019 for examples of Evans dominating proceedings, but around that there have been countless moments of brilliance that have unlocked defences and created tries from nothing during his time in Blue and Black.

The partnership with Tomos Williams at half-back is one that will go down in the club’s history, a telepathic understanding between 9 & 10 that laid the platform for the scintillation that followed, while the dual playmaker axis with Gareth Anscombe allowed Evans the freedom to play on the road to Bilbao in 2017/18.

And Bilbao itself! The weight of that kick through for Garyn Smith’s try could not have been more inch perfect, a fitting end to what was a standout season for the fly-half.

As Evans now departs Wales the lingering question is why the most naturally gifted attacking fly-half of his generation has only eight caps to his name. Don’t get me wrong, eight caps is still an achievement greater than 99% of Welsh people will reach, but there’s a definite sense that it could, and perhaps should, have been more.

It would be unscrupulous not to mention that, in comparison to the other contenders for the red 10 jersey, his kicking game is the weakest. There have been significant strides made from the fly-half in this area, but there appears to be a natural restriction to the mechanics of his kicking game that prevents him getting the distance and height of others.

However, the rugby romantic in me would question why a coach with the attacking outlook that Wayne Pivac displayed, while taking charge of a national team that previously had the likes of Phil Bennett and Barry John grace the outside half position, was not looking to build a game plan around someone with the talent of Jarrod Evans while masking the kicking weakness through the use of box kicking, and footballers at 12 and/or 15.

It is a sad reflection of the conservatism that impacts the Head Coach of the Welsh national team due to the weight of expectation of the wider rugby public and the media that achieving average results through a restricted and narrow game is seen as better than playing with speed and flair but risking some poor results along the way.

Nevertheless, I count myself lucky to follow professional club rugby week-in, week-out where that individual expression is encouraged and eight years of Jarrod Evans magic has been the result. It’s been a pleasure to watch him grace the Arms Park, and I’ve no doubt at all that he will be a huge success in the Gallagher Premiership and specifically as part of that Harlequins team.

Diolch a pob lwc, Jarrod!