Blog: Rhys Evans’ defection makes a mockery of Welsh development

Warrington three-quarter Rhys Evans showed against Leeds that he is one of the most exciting talents in British Rugby League.

With a name like that and a birthplace of Bridgend one might think that RL enthusiasts west of Offa’s Dyke would be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of him pulling on the red of his honeland.

But Evans, who starred for England’s Academy against the Australian Schoolboys last winter is determined to forge an international career with England.

So, we now have a situation where a young Welshman, born and bred in the land of his fathers, could be pulling on a white shirt and playing against Wales, whilst English and Australian-born journeymen pull on the red of his country to play against him.

If anything showed what a mess the international game in Europe has become then it has to be this.

England have now ‘poached’ players from Ireland (Ben Harrison and Chris Bridge) and Scotland (Danny Brough and Dale Ferguson). Now it looks like they may be poaching Evans too, in what would be a much more blatant piece of opportunism.

How will that go down in Wales? Not well, one would imagine, especially not with the folk who have worked so hard in recent years to raise the profile of the game to where it is now – making some kind of headway at last. Having a young Welshman turn out for England can only harm our game’s credibility and long-term prospects in the Principality.

It is not Evans’s fault. In the wake of his fine performance against Leeds he told Sky Sports that England represented his best chance of playing international rugby to the highest possible level, which is true in essence.

But it renders even the existence of a Wales team vaguely absurd. How many more will swap? If the current situation continues then one could surmise that every young Welsh star will change his allegiance for ‘professional’ reasons, unless they turn out to be not quite good enough, in which case they can opt for the second division option of Wales. Evans, after all, has a highly-rated twin brother Ben, also in the Warrington set-up.

Will the likes of David Scott and Chad McGlame, young Scots recently signed up by the Hull clubs, opt to do the same if the chance came? Being realistic, probably yes. Who wouldn’t swap the chance of playing competitively against Australia and New Zealand rather than France and Ireland?

Once again, there is a simple solution, and one that more of us in the League world (not least Barrie McDermott) are calling for: bring back the Great Britain and Ireland team.

Then we could all be hailing Evans as a future star who could do wonders for the game in his homeland, rather than contemplating another dent in our seemingly ever-decreasing international credibility.