Ieuan Evans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ieuan Evans
MBE

Ieuan Evans
Birth name	Ieuan Cennydd Evans
Date of birth	(1964-03-21) 21 March 1964 (age 61)
Place of birth	Pontarddulais, Wales
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	13 st 5 lb (187 lb; 85 kg)
School	Queen Elizabeth Grammar
University	Salford University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) – Llanelli RFC () – Bath () – Barbarian F.C. () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1987–1998 Wales 72 (157) 1989–1997 British and Irish Lions 7 (4)

Ieuan Cennydd Evans MBE (born 21 March 1964) is a famous former rugby union player from Wales. He played as a wing for both the Welsh national team and the British and Irish Lions.

Ieuan is known for scoring lots of tries! He is the fourth highest try scorer for Wales. Only Shane Williams, George North, and Gareth Thomas have scored more. He also used to hold the record for being the Wales captain most often, leading the team 28 times.

Playing Career

Starting Rugby Young

Ieuan Evans was born in Pontarddulais, Wales. He started playing rugby when he was just 10 years old. He played for his school team at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. He even became the captain of his school team!

When he was 17, Ieuan joined the youth team at Carmarthen Quins RFC. Two years later, he moved to play for Llanelli RFC. He was also a student at Salford University at this time.

Club Success

Ieuan played for Llanelli for many years. He helped his team win five out of seven cup finals. This shows how important he was to the team's success.

In 1997, Ieuan left Llanelli to play for Bath. There, he was part of the team that won the Heineken Cup in 1998. This was a big achievement for him and his club.

Playing for Wales

While playing for Llanelli, Ieuan was chosen to play for the Welsh national team. His first international game was in 1987 against France in Paris. He played as a right-wing.

Ieuan played 72 games for Wales. He was captain in 28 of those games. He scored 33 tries for Wales, which was a record at the time! A TV commentator even called him "Merlin" because of his magical playing style. In 1994, he captained Wales when they won the Five Nations Championship.

British and Irish Lions

Ieuan was also picked to play for the British and Irish Lions three times. These tours were to Australia in 1989, New Zealand in 1993, and South Africa in 1997.

One of his most famous moments was scoring the winning try in a big game against Australia in 1989. He also scored four tries during the 1993 tour to New Zealand. This made him the Lions' top try scorer on that tour. He played his last international game in 1998 against Italy.

Life After Rugby

Awards and Family

Ieuan Evans was given an award called the MBE in 1996. This was for his great contributions to rugby. He stopped playing rugby professionally in 1998 to start his own marketing company.

In 2007, he was added to the International Rugby Hall of Fame. This is a special place for rugby legends. He was also added to the IRB Hall of Fame in 2014.

Ieuan has three children: Lili (born 1997), Cai (born 1999), and Tirion (born 2001). His son, Cai Evans, is also a professional rugby player for Wales. He plays as a fly-half.

Broadcasting and Charity Work

After retiring from rugby, Ieuan became a regular TV commentator and presenter. He has worked for the BBC, ITV, and Sky Sports, sharing his rugby knowledge.

He has also been involved with many companies and groups. He was on the board of the Welsh Tourist Board and VisitBritain.

Ieuan is also very active in charity work. Since 2008, he has helped raise money for Help for Heroes. He also supports the Velindre Cancer Centre. In 2010, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with other former Welsh rugby captains to raise money for charity.

See also

In Spanish: Ieuan Evans para niños