Will Evans outplayed Scotland’s back row, so will England take a look?

Danny Wilson’s tone was telling. With a shrug and a half-grin, the Harlequins head coach clearly knew it was a big statement to make; even in the wake of a tense win over Glasgow Warriors in which Will Evans had excelled.

“We had some big players in our back row who aren’t available and that’s a Scotland international back row [we were playing against],” Wilson said. “And I thought Will Evans had the better of it, in terms of what he did at the breakdown. In that battle area, I thought he was superb.”

A tense, topsy-turvy contest was ultimately decided by two contrasting sin-bin periods. Harlequins scored two tries while Sione Tuipulotu was serving his 10 minutes just before half-time. Later, while Joe Marler was off following a high tackle, the hosts kept Glasgow scoreless thanks to a dogged period of defence.

The duel between two openside flankers, Evans and Rory Darge, was compelling; more so because the breakdown was chaotic. Darge, co-captain of Scotland for the Six Nations, is a fabulous player. You invariably need to watch a game twice to appreciate his influence around the tackle. The 24-year-old was a menace against England at Murrayfield in February, disrupting incessantly by wrestling and shunting white shirts over the ball.

For Wilson to suggest that Evans eclipsed Darge on Friday evening was a huge compliment. Then again, Evans has some pedigree. Back in 2016, at the age of 19, he was included in an England training squad by Eddie Jones, and has proven himself as an elite poacher over the intervening years. Since the start of the 2019-20 Premiership season, Evans has averaged 1.65 jackal turnovers per 80 minutes of league action. Only Jack Willis (2.1) has been more prolific. Tom Curry is third with 1.33.

Evans remains uncapped. At the age of 27, that might well remain the case. But he seems at peace with it all. In a candid interview with RugbyPass last year, Evans admitted that a sense of “underachievement” had tortured him. Now, he revealed, yearning for Test involvement has been “put to bed”. Wilson might advise him to keep the faith.

“I’d love to see him get a chance with England because he’s been superb this year,” Wilson added. “He punches way above his weight. I think he’s picking his breakdowns better – he probably went after too many previously – and I really hope he gets an opportunity.”

More data from Stats Perform back up this hunch. Evans conceded a penalty every 80 minutes in the Premiership last season. That figure is currently lower at 0.59. As Wilson intimated, Evans is maturing into a considered, crafty operator.

There would seem to be a decent queue ahead of him as far as the England picture, even if Ben Earl continues to be regarded as a No 8. Not including Jack Willis or Lewis Ludlam, you also have the incumbent Sam Underhill as well as Tom and Ben Curry, Tom Pearson and maybe even Guy Pepper, who was called up by Steve Borthwick for the final week of the Six Nations.

That said, Champions Cup games – particularly in the knockout stages – have been termed as the next step down from Test level. They are shop windows that must offer a fulfilling personal challenge, too. Opposite Darge, who will surely be close to the British and Irish Lions squad next summer, Evans was highly influential. Stats Perform counted 23 tackles, the first of which lassoed Tuipulotu in midfield. Watch how Alex Dombrandt is able to pounce and almost earns the turnover:

Evans’ attacking skills are perhaps underrated and he turned Warriors with a clever chip later in the first quarter:

Here, in the 15th minute, Evans and Darge begin opposite one another at a Glasgow put-in:

George Horne hurls a pass towards the near touchline and what follows is fascinating. As Stafford McDowall gathers the loose ball, watch where Evans and Darge are:

McDowall evades Marcus Smith and André Esterhuizen but Evans scrags him to the floor and burrows in, seemingly beating Tuipulotu to the ball. Darge flies in to clear Evans, who is obviously frustrated that the referee, Tual Trainini, has not rewarded him:

On the following phase, Horne snipes close to the ruck. Smith cuts down the Warriors scrum-half and Evans is rummaging again. Darge has to flip him away from the breakdown:

One feature of Evans’ game is that he is rarely caught up in contact for long. Here, he is back on his feet and interacting with Trainini as the next phase starts. From his gestures, Evans seems to be making the point that he lifted the ball from McDowall’s grasp. Trainini responds, arguing that Evans did not release the carrier between tackling and jackalling:

This slow-motion replay demonstrates how referees must monitor. Evans does appear to lift the ball from McDowall with his left hand. However, he never lets go of McDowall with his right. Trainini has a point, it seems:

Soon afterwards, though, Evans is rewarded. The sequence begins with his own thumping tackle on Jack Dempsey; a great example of a defender punching above their weight given Dempsey, also immense against England in the Six Nations, is listed at 111kg and Evans at 99kg. Dombrandt helps here, but Evans is robust in contact. Again, he stays on his feet and steps into the breakdown just to disrupt subtly:

On the next phase, Horne spots space around the fringes. Will Collier quickly fills that and drives his man backwards. Evans is on the spot. He tracks the tackle, dips lower than Matt Fagerson, another Scotland regular, and clamps on. It is questionable whether he arrives before the ruck is formed but fortune favours the bold – as it often does at the breakdown – and Trainini rewards him this time with a penalty:

Jackal turnovers regularly shape matches. From this one, Harlequins kicked to the corner and scored their first try. The margin for error, however, is small. Sometimes, jackallers can bring about opposition penalties by addressing the ball before a fellow defender has rolled away from the tackle. Darge did this in the first half on Friday, ironically after swooping over Evans.

We pick up the next sequence as Horne feeds Dempsey. Note the position of Evans:

In this case, after André Esterhuizen and Oscar Beard have combined to fell Dempsey, there is a chance to jackal. Evans resists. He gets into a position to compete, but side-steps away from the breakdown to fill the defensive line:

One phase later, Danny Care speeds up to hit Tom Jordan. Lurking close to the ball again, Evans goes in. Darge has to backpedal around the back foot, with Horne and Max Williamson also shunting into the clear-out. Evans still pilfers possession. Here, though, Trainini penalises Care, feeling as though the clearers are obstructed by his failure to roll away quickly enough:

It is tough on Evans, who stays on the floor in pain. Jackalling requires serious courage:

Glasgow scored twice in quick succession from here, and went ahead when Evans was trapped in a ruck to concede a penalty. Then came Marler’s sin bin, and a resolute period of defence from Harlequins. With seconds left on the yellow card, and Warriors pressing inside the opposition 22, Tuipulotu carries:

Watch Marcus Smith call Evans around a ruck. Evans, quick across the ground and adept at untangling himself from breakdown, continually scurried into position like this, which helped Harlequins to keep width in their defensive line:

Now track the openside. He stops Horne’s dart, releases the carrier and then addresses the ball again. He does not get the turnover, but the ruck lasts four or five seconds; just enough time for a 14-man defence to set itself:

Esterhuizen forces a penalty a few phases later and Marler returns to bring back Harlequins to their full complement.

Evans was also integral to the maul try that sent his team through. As Sam Riley throws to Dombrandt, who is lifted by Marler and Dillon Lewis, Evans zips in to secure the ball:

The set-up is tight, with Evans right at the centre:

And, as the drive shifts off the lifting pod, leaving Lewis, Dombrandt and Marler, you can see Evans at the front of the melee that tears over the try-line:

Because Harlequins spilled the ensuing restart, they needed to defend one last attack. Here is Evans’ 23rd and final tackle of the game. He goes low on Lucio Sordoni and fights to move away from the ball to avoid conceding a penalty. He is exhausted, yet still clear of mind:

Steve Borthwick admires industrious, tough, intelligent players and Evans is one of those. The England head coach will also be aware that, with Jack Willis at Toulouse, Evans is the best out-and-out jackaller available to him.

Sam Underhill was close to his formidable best at times during this Six Nations, but Borthwick will be constantly pondering ways to improve England in the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup. A breakdown threat like Evans could enhance the aggressive defensive system of Felix Jones and produce more chances to attack in transition. Just look at Kwagga Smith’s impact on the World Cup final from the bench.

Either way, Borthwick will be watching Harlequins in their quarter-final this weekend. A trip to Stade Chaban-Delmas to take on Bordeaux-Bègles is a mighty task that will require a special performance, particularly in defence. As things stand, Harlequins are 15-point underdogs. You sense that Evans is the sort of character who will relish those odds.