We are delighted to announce that women’s Welsh rugby legend, Non Evans MBE, will be coming on board to join our professional rugby bloggers!
For anyone that is a supporter of women’s rugby, Non Evans is a household name, and as her MBE for Services to Sport suggests, she has achieved the highest honours in women’s rugby including a lifetime achievement award by UK Rugby in June 2011 and inclusion in the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in May 2012 (being the first ever female for both).
Only one thing comes to mind when you think of Evans – winner. Just check out some of her rugby stats and achievements across the board in rugby 15s, rugby 7s and touch rugby:
15s Rugby
87 Caps for Wales.
64 tries for Wales – World Record
463 international points scored for Wales
Top points scorer in World and Welsh International Women’s rugby
Top points scorer of all Home Nations in 2007-2009 Six Nations
Welsh International player of the year 2003 and 2009
16 Caps for the Nomads (British Lions)
Only Welsh player to have represented ‘The World 15’ against New Zealand 2003 (2 tests)
7s Rugby
Wales and Barbarians 7s Team 2002-2008
Dubai 7s Champion (3 times)
Dubai Semi Finals (2 times)
Amsterdam 7s Champion
Tourch Rugby
45 Caps for touch rugby
European Touch Rugby player of the year 2008
Welsh touch rugby captain 2004-2007
Nomads: 2 tests v South Africa 2008
The list goes on and on. What is most apparent about Evans, however, is her positive attitude and her love of competition. It is this attitude has brought her great success not just in rugby but in four other disciplines –judo, wrestling weightlifting and powerlifting. In fact, she was the first person to ever compete at three different sports at the Commonwealth Games and finished in the top 6 for all three (judo, wrestling and weightlifting).
Evans retired from rugby in December 2010 but she continues to demonstrate that she is one of the most prolific female athletes that Wales has ever produced as exemplified by the fact that she was due to represent Team GB in the London Olympics for wrestling until a hamstring injury put her dream on hold.
Despite her injury, Evans had a big part in the Olympics where she participated on the other side of the camera as part of the Olympics commentating team alongside other Welsh sporting greats like Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and Robbie Savage.
She is now a weekly Scrum V presenter and has enjoyed commentating on the Women’s Six Nations for the BBC. Despite retirement, Evans continues to work hard on her physique and trains six days a week at The Edge gym in Caerphilly run by her boyfriend Aleks Vassili Georgijev, nine time Mr Wales champion in bodybuilding and previously known as TV Gladiator Hawk.
“I run in the morning and do weights in the night. I just feel horrible if I don’t train. I like looking fit. I like having my abs. It’s in me. It makes me who I am,” Evans said.
Evans undoubtedly offers a wealth of information to our readers on the topics of rugby, fitness, training, competing, winning and much much more! We hope you use this opportunity to ask her questions and get inside access to indisputably Wales’ most successful female rugby player of all time. Look out for her article next month on our site.
Read more about Non here.