‘A true legend of Swansea RFC’ has been hailed by the club after his passing.
Morrie Evans piled up 355 appearances for the All Whites and also skippered them.
He served Swansea for almost 20 years, making his debut eight months after wartime rationing officially ended and continuing to play until the glam rock era of the early 1970s. For the record, his first outing came in April 1955, with Evans playing his last match in February 1973.
A teak-hard flanker, he figured in the win over Australia in 1966, when he, Geoff Atherton and Mike Thomas formed a marauding back row.
In a tribute, the Whites called him an “abrasive and effective back row, feared and respected in the rugby world”.
Thomas, another former Swansea skipper, said: “Morrie was one of the hardest and fittest players I ever played rugby with or against.”
And ex-Whites chairman Roger Blyth added: “I was so sad to hear of the passing away of Morrie Evans, who I had the privilege of playing with in the early days of my career.
“Morrie was a skilful, uncompromising forward who was respected equally by his team-mates and opponents alike.
"Added to this every time he took the field for the All Whites he did so with a ‘team-first’ attitude which endured to the end of his playing days. He will be remembered as a true legend of Swansea RFC, an honour truly deserved.”
Evans played against all three major touring sides, starting with an outing against South Africa in 1960, then figuring in the 9-8 win over the Wallabies and playing for West Wales against New Zealand in 1967 in a pack that included Dai Morris and Delme Thomas, with Clive Rowlands skippering the side from scrum-half.
Evans, it was said, would run through brick walls for the cause.
Respect followed him around.
There was a nod to his mountainous number of appearances when in 2018 he was presented with his Swansea RFC ‘100 cap’ in recognition of having passed that milestone. He had actually got there more than half-a-century earlier, but, as the old adage would have it, good things are worth waiting for.
His funeral will take place at Morriston Crematorium on Thursday, April 13, at 3.30pm.
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