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#Post#: 42740--------------------------------------------------
On this day...
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: May 5, 2020, 4:42 am
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A certain Kiwi joined the club.
HTML https://inews.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/on-this-day-nick-evans-arrived-to-start-his-stint-as-perhaps-the-premierships-greatest-ever-foreign-import-2842570
On This Day: Nick Evans arrived to start his stint as perhaps
the Premiership's greatest ever foreign import
5 May 2008: Evans arrived in three-quarter length camouflage
shorts and a vest - but looked much classier on the pitch
By Louis Doré
Tuesday, 5th May 2020, 7:30 am
Updated
3 hours ago
The news broke on 5 May 2008. Harlequins had been looking for a
top-class fly-half since the retirement of Andrew Mehrtens, and
another New Zealander would be stepping into the jersey vacated
that summer by Adrian Jarvis, headed to Bristol.
A 28-year-old Nick Evans, behind only Dan Carter in the All
Black’s pecking order at 10, would be coming to London to call
the plays for a young and promising crop of players.
Danny Care tells i: “We heard we were looking at Nick Evans and
I think the whole group had that excitement. You sign good
players sometimes but we heard we were getting him and it
definitely felt different. I don’t think any of us realised just
how good he was and how he would transform our team.”
Former England and Harlequins captain Chris Robshaw agrees: “To
me, I think Nick Evans changed the way that Harlequins played
the game. The speed he brought - which he probably never got
credit for - his accuracy and his composure. He would push guys,
but in a relaxed manner, it made guys feel comfortable around
him in training.
“He definitely has been the biggest impact upon Harlequins in my
time and potentially even the history of the club.”
It was immediate. Harlequins finished 6th in the 2007-08
Premiership season before his arrival, scoring 53 tries. With
Evans at 10, they finished 2nd in the table, losing the
semi-final having scored 60 tries. Harlequins lost in the
quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup that season to the eventual
champions Leinster, a game remembered for the 'Bloodgate'
scandal. En route to that match the club clinched a 19-17 home
win against Stade Francais with an Evans drop goal after 29
brutal phases, signifying the club as a force among the best in
Europe at the time.
The following season Harlequins confirmed their status by
winning the European Challenge Cup, beating Stade Francais in
Cardiff in the final with a last-minute touchline conversion and
four penalties from Evans. “The conversion for [Gonzalo]
Camacho’s try wasn’t an easy one either, with all that pressure
behind it!” Care remembers.
“We used to give him a lot of stick for the money he was on, but
he certainly was worth every penny when he kicked. I don’t know
how many games he won us with his nerve and his bottle.”
In the 2011-12 Premiership final the year following, Evans,
already awarded RPA player of the year, scored 20 points against
Leicester Tigers to deliver Harlequins’ first and only
Premiership title to date, the greatest season in the club’s
open era history.
“I’ve always said I think he’s the best overseas signing the
Premiership has seen. Obviously I’m probably biased because I
got to play alongside him for so many years,” Care says.
“Everything he did he made look so easy. I always say he made me
look a lot better than I am, so I’m forever grateful to him.
“His mantra, which he’d preach to other players every day was
‘live by the sword’, and it’s the way we used to play. We’d go
for it, throw the ball around - it didn’t matter if we made
mistakes.
“It doesn’t happen anymore. The game has changed completely now.
It’s more tactical, it’s more defence-focused.
“I miss playing it! It was the funnest few years of my career.“
Evans wasn’t a natural at everything, however. “He always wears
dodgy clothes,” Care laughs. “His fashion sense when first
rocked up was shameful! He turned up to London, the highest paid
player - I think in the Premiership at one point - and he’s
wearing three-quarter length commando camouflage shorts and a
vest. We were like ‘who is this guy?!’.“
“One thing he can’t do is he can’t play football - it’s always
amazed me! How good he is at kicking a rugby ball - you roll a
football to him and it’s like looking at a toddler working it
out.”
While his 16 All Blacks caps held steady due to domestic rules
(and the incumbent Dan Carter), Evans racked up 2248 points and
30 tries in his 208 appearances for Harlequins over a decade at
the Stoop.
He waved goodbye in his final match there in a 32-13 win over
Wasps in 2017, in which he scored 22 points. He continues to
work at the London club as a member of the coaching team under
Paul Gustard.
Inducted into the Premiership hall of fame in 2019 alongside
Harlequins’ World Cup-winning prop Jason Leonard, he holds a
strong claim to be the greatest ever Premiership import.
#Post#: 42744--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: harlequins
Date: May 5, 2020, 5:27 am
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My greatest ever Quin
#Post#: 42747--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: ChiddQuin
Date: May 5, 2020, 5:46 am
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And thanks to Deano for bringing him in!
#Post#: 42748--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: Nico Wilson
Date: May 5, 2020, 5:51 am
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A fantastic player, and I'm delighted he didn't leave after the
event that shall not be mentioned.
#Post#: 42758--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: Uncle Arthur
Date: May 5, 2020, 6:32 am
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Indeed, I was by the tunnel on that 'unmentionable event'
#Post#: 42762--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: Guildford Quin
Date: May 5, 2020, 6:47 am
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--- Quote from: Uncle Arthur link ---
>
> Indeed, I was by the tunnel on that 'unmentionable event'
>
--- End Quote ---
And I was in the stands for the Cardiff and Twickenham finals
which are the events worthy of mention. No coincidence that
Evans was at the helm during the most exciting and successful
period for the Club in the modern era. Great player - fantastic
memories
#Post#: 42765--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: Uncle Arthur
Date: May 5, 2020, 7:03 am
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Harlequins 30 v 23 Leicester Tigers | Aviva Premiership Rugby 1
Minute Highlights FINAL | 26-05-12
OK 21 more days for an "On this day" .........
HTML https://youtu.be/o9fjvE3Rr3o
#Post#: 42773--------------------------------------------------
Re: On this day...
DIR By: harlequins
Date: May 5, 2020, 8:23 am
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I watched the extended highlights of that game the other day.
Very enjoyable. We did have a very good team.
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