Evans, who died on 6 November, won 13 caps for Wales and played 18 times for the Lions on the 1959 tour to Australia and New Zealand, playing in four of the six Tests. He also won a Blue for Cambridge University against Oxford.
Born in Porthcawl on 19 December, 1934, he learned his rugby at Cowbridge Grammar School and won Welsh Schools caps against France and England in 1953, winning on both occasions. The 1966 Lions tourist, Howard Norris, was in the pack with him.
He won his Blue in the 1955 Varsity Match, when Onllwyn Brace ruled the roost in a 9-5 Oxford, playing alongside his future Lions tour partner, David Marques. They played in two Tests together on the 1959 tour and they also travelled together to South America with the Combined Oxford & Cambridge squad in 1956.
Evans, then 21, was sent home by the manager for some wild behaviour in Chile, which he explained later in life had been “fully justified in retrospect”.
He made his debut for Cardiff Athletic against Blackwood while still only 18 and weeks later made his first team debut against Leicester. He was selected for his first Welsh Trial in 1956 had the distinction of playing in three teams that beat the 1957/58 touring Australians.
He was a winner with Cardiff, 14-11, on 14 December, 1957, made his Wales debut in the 9-3 victory on 2 January, 1958, and completed an Arms Park hat-trick in the 11-6 triumph by the Barbarians on 22 February. He also played for Wales against the 1960 Springboks.
He played for Wales throughout the Five Nations Championships of 1958 and 1961 and made his final appearance in the draw against Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 1962 at the age of 27. In October, 1960, he played his 82nd and final game for Cardiff before transferring to Bridgend, where he was club captain in 1961/62.
He also captained the Barbarians against Newport on their Easter Tour in 1961, having helped the world renowned invitation team become the only team to beat the touring Springboks in Cardiff a few months earlier. He also toured South Africa with the Baa-Baas in 1958.
On the 1959 Lions tour, he partner fellow Welshman Rhys Williams in the second row in the second Test victory in Australia and in the first three Tests in New Zealand. He enjoyed 12 victories in his 18 games for the tourists, scoring one try.
He qualified as a solicitor while at Cambridge and had various business interests in Porthcawl. He also became president of the Porthcawl Sportsman’s Club.
He is survived by his wife, Sue, Sue, sons Nigel and Bas, and four grandchildren. His funeral is on 24 November and the WRU passes on the heartfelt condolences of Welsh rugby to the family.
