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Kiwi Nick Evans is poised for entry into a very exclusive England club
By Online Editors
Three legends of the game will be inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame at a star-studded event at Twickenham on May 31.
Nick Evans, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard will join the exclusive club following a ceremony the night before the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final.
Dawson and Leonard join several of their fellow 2003 World Cup winners in the Hall of Fame, with Kyran Bracken, Ben Kay and Jason Robinson inducted last year – and Jonny Wilkinson, Josh Lewsey, Lawrence Dallaglio, Simon Shaw, Richard Hill, Neil Back and Phil Vickery all also welcomed in recent times.
And New Zealander Evans, a one-club man with Harlequins where he made more than 200 Premiership Rugby appearances and helped the club lift their first League title in 2012, joins them on the illustrious list.
Dawson was one of the last generation of players to begin their rugby career during the amateur era before transitioning into professional rugby with aplomb. He would finish his career with a whole host of domestic and international honours.
Evans was a one-club legend, record points-scorer, fly-half turned coach and arguably one of the best Premiership Rugby imports of all time. However it could have been so different as for some time it looked like Aussie rules football might benefit from the Auckland-born talent.
Meanwhile, with a record-setting 114 England caps to his name and 290 appearances for Harlequins, Leonard truly is English rugby royalty.
You name it and it’s likely that Leonard has done it in a career that started at Barking and ended at Harlequins, with stints with Saracens, England and the British and Irish Lions in between.
He now continues to break new ground as earlier this year he was appointed chairman of the British and Irish Lions board, having previously also been president of the RFU since hanging up his boots. Not bad for a carpenter from Barking.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
2018-19: Matt Dawson, Nick Evans, Jason Leonard;
2017: Steve Borthwick, Kyran Bracken, Nick Easter, Ben Kay, Jason Robinson;
2016: Neil Back, Mark Cueto, Richard Hill, Mike Tindall, Hugh Vyvyan;
2015: Lawrence Dallaglio, Josh Lewsey, Simon Shaw, James Simpson-Daniel, Phil Vickery, Peter Wheeler, Jonny Wilkinson;
2014: Rob Baxter, George Chuter, Martin Johnson, Lewis Moody, Ed Morrison, Tom Walkinshaw;
2013: Mike Catt, Martin Corry, Warren Gatland, Austin Healey, Charlie Hodgson, Kenny Logan, Jim Mallinder, Conor O’Shea, Dean Richards, Andy Robinson, John Wells.
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Latest Comments
No he's just limited in what he can do. Like Scott Robertson. And Eddie Jones.
Sometimes it doesn't work out so you have to go looking for another national coach who supports his country and believes in what he is doing. Like NZ replacing Ian Foster. And South Africa bringing Erasmus back in to over see Neinbar.
This is the real world. Not the fantasy oh you don't need passion for your country for international rugby. Ask a kiwi, or a south african or a frenchman.
Go to commentsDont complain too much or start jumping to conclusions.
Here in NZ commentators have been blabbing that our bottom pathway competition the NPC (provincial teams only like Taranaki, Wellington etc)is not fit for purpose ie supplying players to Super rugby level then they started blabbing that our Super Rugby comp (combined provincial unions making up, Crusaders, Hurricanes, etc) wasn't good enough without the South African teams and for the style SA and the northern powers play at test level.
Here is what I reckon, Our comps are good enough for how WE want to play rugby not how Ireland, SA, England etc play. Our comps are high tempo, more rucks, mauls, running plays, kicks in play, returns, in a game than most YES alot of repetition but that builds attacking skillsets and mindsets. I don't want to see world teams all play the same they all have their own identity and style as do England (we were scared with all this kind of talk when they came here) World powerhouse for a reason, losses this year have been by the tiniest of margins and could have gone either way in alot of games. Built around forward power and blitz defence they have got a great attack Wingers are chosen for their Xfactor now not can they chase up and unders all day. Stick to your guns its not far off
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