Matt
Evans
Many of our supporters first saw Matt when he
played for Worcester against us at the Mennaye Field in March, 2004, the 'Warriors'
winning 49-24 just a few weeks before at last ending the season as deserved Champions
of National One.
Just two months later we were delighted
to announce that the powerful young back-rower had signed from Worcester along
with centre Duncan Murray.
With a name like 'Evans' it was
felt that this South African had roots in Wales, but no, his mum and dad having
emigrated from York in 1979 along with his brother and two sisters.
As
a youngster Matt enjoyed playing cricket, representing Natal at various levels,
intil in his early teens he became bigger and stronger for rugby to take preference.
When
he was 18 and playing for Natal U19s, an invitation was given him to join Hartpury
College, Gloucester, which he accepted, playing also for the 'Cherry & Whites'
before joining Worcester.
Matt certainly impressed in his
early games for the Pirates, scoring a super try with a man-of-the-match performance
against Coventry in September, 2004, to help record our first league win of that
season.
A week later, however, on the last Saturday of
the month, personal disaster struck in the away match at Nottingham when he seriously
injured an ankle which sadly kept him out for the rest of the season. It was a
difficult time, but he much appreciated the support given by coaching staff and
players, and the best wishes expressed by supporters.
Matt
did not play again until August 2005, his frustrations hopefully overcome, though
a knee injury at the start of October kept him out for some weeks.
At
the end of the season a plate was removed from his injured ankle, a summer was
spent playing cricket for Penzance, and by the off he was back to his best form.
Matt
made 20 appearances for the Cornish Pirates in 2006-07, but his season ended cruelly
when he broke a bone in his leg and damaged ankle ligament in the final match
away to Coventry.
As for last season, his strength of character
saw him come through more or less unscathed, and he was a deserved joint winner
of 'The John Stirling Cup for Commitment'.
