Having a famous family member isn’t always the easiest situation in life, and particularly in sport.
The cricketer Mark Waugh, brother of Steve Waugh, was once referred to as Afghan after the forgotten war between Russia and Afghanistan. Clever, but how much Mark, a superb player in his own right, enjoyed being classed as the unremembered Waugh we do not know.
Then there was the late Carl Hoddle, sibling of Glenn Hoddle. Asked about the craziest request he'd ever received from a fan, he replied: “Being asked if I can do my brother’s autograph.”
Read more: Wales star Warren Gatland has just snubbed wins award after outstanding season for his region
What of Cai Evans?
The son of current Welsh Rugby Union chairman and former Wales wing and captain Ieuan Evans, he is no carbon copy of his dad on or off the field. Whereas Evans senior was a lethal finisher who used pace and footwork to post tries he had no right to score, often arrowing towards the opposition line and touching down in little or no space, Cai is a utility back who can kick a ball possibly further than some of Elon Musk's rockets can fly.
Until this week, he hadn’t been seen as a newspaper back-page lead figure. But his selection in Wales’ 54-man provisional World Cup training squad was big news, albeit news that next to no one had seen coming. It was out of the blue and then a bit more.
What are Wales getting? “Cai has a great attitude and a kicking game that you can build a tactical framework around,” said Cardiff Rugby academy manager Gruff Rees, who was at the Ospreys when Evans arrived at the region as a teenager.
“He’s also keen to get on the ball and has a good skill-set.
“Wales obviously think he’s worth having a look at and he does offer something different. He’s versatile and had a couple of outstanding games before picking up a bump playing for the Ospreys this year.
“He came across to the Ospreys with Cardiff’s blessing.
“Cardiff had people like Ben Thomas and Ben Jones in the system, good players in the same sort of 10, 15 bracket. We all know what Ben Thomas can do, while Ben Jones plays for Merthyr now and is gifted — one of the best players in the Welsh Premiership. There was a bit of a gridlock of players there, so Richard Hodges at Cardiff put out a message to academy managers.
“We went to watch him play for Cowbridge Youth. He could kick off both feet and I remember saying to the academy guys, we have to bring this guy in. I think Tom Smith, Ospreys academy manager at the time, managed to push it through.”
The certainty is Evans hasn’t been in full town crier mode since learning of his selection.
It’s not his style.
On social media, the 23-year-old's tweets are protected, meaning only approved followers can see them. He is not one to court controversy or get involved in public spats. In interviews, he is articulate but measured and careful about what he says. “He’s a nice guy but he is not a chip off the old block,” laughed one observer of Wales U20s rugby, who had a close-quarters look at Evans during his age-grade days.
“While Ieuan is outgoing, Cai is definitely not the loudest voice in the room. He watches what he says.”
Gruff Rees agreed, saying: “He’s pretty reserved but that’s his way and it’s not a bad thing. He’s actually polite and well-mannered. He’s also very keen to learn. He’d always ask good questions and he’d spend time on the laptop and was interested in his own development.”
There’s another thing. “He’s the slowest eater you will ever come across,” said the Wales U20 observer quoted above. “He’d get through rice grain by grain. When others were on dessert, he’d still be eating his main course.
“Seriously, though, he’s a nice lad.
"People who know him will be really pleased for him.”
Gatland has presumably consulted the Ospreys about the new man, for there haven’t been many opportunities to see him him play as a starter at regional level this term. Indeed, he’s only featured in the south-west Wales region’s run-on side three times in 2022-23, with an injury keeping him out for an extended period.
In the first half of the season, he figured a fair bit for Swansea, most recently against Llanelli on Boxing Day.
But it was a couple of performances for the Ospreys that made people sit up and take notice, first against Leinster in the United Rugby Championship and then against Montpellier in the Heineken Champions Cup.
After his display against the French champions, when Evans defused any number of bombs from full-back and launched the ball through what seemed like a dozen different postcodes every time he kicked it, one watcher said: “Where’s he been until now? He’s like a completely different player.”
Now it’s Wales’ turn to assess him.
If he doesn’t decorate his play with too many neon-lit starbursts, he'll look to join attacks and he's on top of the basics, doing enough to convince Wales' head coach he's at least worth bringing him into the set-up. “We’ve been impressed.," said Gatland. "He has a big boot, he's a good goal-kicker and he’s pretty quick — probably not as quick as his dad used to be but he is sharp enough.
"He may end up as a 10 in the future but I think 15 has been a good position for him. It is a position we need to look at in terms of getting some depth going forward.” You can read more here about Evans' transformation.
The product of Cowbridge Comprehensive School has already done well to earn a call-up.
But this is his chance to further impress.
He’ll be determined to take it.
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