Rhys Evans keen for more games with Leeds Rhinos

Evans was called into Rhinos’ initial 21-man squad for the first time last week following injuries to Richie Myler, Konrad Hurrell, Rob Lui and James Donaldson.

When he replaced Alex Mellor midway through Rhinos’ 48-0 loss to St Helens it was his 95th Super League appearance, but first since 2017.

It was a tough situation for Evans to go into, with Rhinos being 24-0 down at the time.

And while he admitted it was “nice to get in the 17 and obviously nice to get some minutes and play Super League for the first time in a long time”, the result meant it was a debut to forget.

It has been an eventful 12 months for the 27-year-old winger or centre who joined Leeds from Bradford Bulls and was loaned back almost immediately at the start of the Betfred Championship season.

Having been training with Rhinos since their lockdown ended a month ago, he has a point to prove - as he says the team do this weekend.

The Welsh international recalled: “When I first came to Leeds I was looking for an opportunity and wanting to get some game time.

“The lads were playing really well at the start of the year and that’s when I went back to Bradford to get some minutes.

“Covid-19 has made it difficult for everyone and now, with the fixtures coming quite fast, there will be some opportunities for me and the rest of the lads who haven’t played this year.”

Bridgend-born Evans had loan spells with Leigh Centurions, Swinton Lions and North Wales Crusaders during his time at Warrington and played for Leigh again in 2018.

It seemed his Super League career might be over, but of his time at Leeds, he said: “It has been really good.

“The lads have been welcoming and all the coaching staff and I have got a good relationship with Rich [Agar, Rhinos’ coach] from my Warrington days. It is nice to be back in Super League, I think every sports woman or man wants to get back to where they were before.

“It has been a long time since I played Super League.

“And, on a personal level, I really did enjoy being out there last week but, on a collective level, we really have got to fix things up.”

Evans’ debut came in the third-heaviest home defeat in Leeds’ history - and the first time they had failed to score at Emerald Headingley since 1992.

They now face the daunting task of trying to bounce back against high-flying Wigan Warriors on Sunday, in a game played on neutral ground at St Helens.

“Obviously, from a team perspective we weren’t happy with our performance and we have to correct that for this week,” Evans insisted.

“Every team has had their ‘bad days at the office’, we had a bad day and it’s on us now to put it right against Wigan or the same thing will happen again.”

Saints were on top of their game, running in eight tries. but Leeds gave them a hand with errors and poor discipline.

And coach Richard Agar accused them of being “soft” at times.

Looking at what went wrong, Evans said: “We gave away penalties, we didn’t complete our sets - all the small things that end up being big things, we didn’t do.

“We need to correct them and they can easily be corrected for this week.”

Wigan went top of the table following their 23-22 win over Wakefield Trinity in the game before Leeds’ last Sunday at Headingley.

“They have been one of the powerhouses in Super League for many years,” said Evans, who played for Warrington Wolves in their 2016 Grand Final loss to Wigan.

“It is probably a good test for us to go and bounce back and prove a few people wrong.”

A message from the Editor:

Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890. We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds. https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/why-yorkshire-evening-post-needs-your-support-laura-collins-yep-editor-2913382

Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe. For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.

Thank you

Laura Collins