Posted by Amidst the doom and gloom of Welsh rugby at the moment there remains cause for optimism in the potential of the some of the young players coming through the pathways.
While those pathways continue to be seriously under-funded in terms of coaching provision, facility and access to top educational options, the money that is available is spent very wisely, and the work done is work of the highest order. The amount of talent that continues to be pumped out is nothing short of remarkable.
This year’s Cymru D20 squad epitomises that. Of course there is a decent number of players either coming through the exiles system or leaving Cymru while somewhere between 15 and 18 years old for opportunities in England, but the majority of the squad is attached to one of the four pro clubs and within that cohort there is plenty of exciting talent.
One of those that has stood out in Super Rygbi Cymru this season is Cardiff centre Elijah Evans, the 19-year-old outside centre started out at Pentyrch RFC, going on to play College rugby at Cardiff & Vale College and progress on to Cardiff Met where he played BUCS Super Rugby last season.
What immediately catches the eye with Evans is his strike running. He’s a tall, long-legged, rangy runner who covers the ground without really looking like he’s putting too much effort into sprinting. He picks great lines and has a wicked step, all adding up to making him a terrific attacking option at 13.
It’s no surprise he’s racked up three tries and multiple try assists, particularly in a Rags team that adopts the club attacking ethos and puts great emphasis on your outside centre being a key attacking cog either as a line breaker or decoy runner.
What Evans also has though is the physicality to come short from that 13 channel and make something happen in contact.
I’m not sure how much Evans is in and around the first team, but I hope he’s managing to tap into the performances and brain of Rey Lee-Lo as much as possible, because there’s certainly similarities between what they offer in attack.
And beyond that he might already be ahead of the great Samoan in one area – distribution. The young Welshman has a quality pass on him from that outside centre channel that opens up all sorts of attacking options for the quality back three players on his shoulder.
It’s defensively where Evans is a touch unknown. Anecdotally he’s been solid in the Blue & Blacks defence, without much video evidence in the highlights to back that up. That physicality in his carrying game extends to contact on the other side of the ball, and the amount of good quality rugby he’s played so far has seen his vision and positioning improve steadily.
However, it’s fair to say there hasn’t been too much stress placed on him in this regard. He’s played for a successful Cardiff & Vale College side, a top half BUCS Super Rugby outfit at Cardiff Met and a table topping Rags team in Super Rygbi Cymru. His two starts for Cymru D20 have come in games at home to Italy U20 and against Spain U20.
Going into this U20 Six Nations campaign it seems fairly likely that Evans will get a good amount of minutes at 13, likely alongside club mates Steff Emanuel at 12, Harri Wilde at 10, Sion Davies at 9, and possibly Tom Bowen on the wing should his first team commitments not preclude him from selection.
Going up against the likes of France U20, Ireland U20 and England U20, powerhouses at this level, is a timely test in his career as he starts to place half-an-eye on progression from the pathway into the first team at the Arms Park.
The aforementioned Lee-Lo is not going to be around forever, Mason Grady has a fairly lengthy injury record already and will be away with Cymru when he’s fit during international windows, and there is not a long line of obvious 13 options banging down the door.
A strong showing for Cymru D20 here, followed up by a successful end of the season with the Rags and on to the World Rugby U20 Championship this summer could set Evans up for a tilt at the Cardiff first team as early as the start of next season in what would be a huge boost to Matt Sherratt’s squad in such a key position.
Cardiff Rugby Life 