7:18pm, 09 January 2019

A Leicester Tigers backrow has been spotted at Harlequins’ training ground, adding to speculation that he is set to join the London club next season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Former England U20s openside Will Evans was spotted at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford this week.

RugbyPass understand the 21-year-old is eager for more first team playing time, having clocked up just five games for the Leicester Tigers so far this season.

A move to Harlequins makes sense for Evans. With reports that Harlequins backrow Jack Clifford is in talks with Exeter Chiefs, the signing of a genuine openside like Evans would go some way to mitigating his potential departure.

The young flanker was added to Eddie Jones initial Elite Player Squad way back in 2016 and has made a total of 32 appearances for the midland’s club. Evans is currently the 20th ranked openside in the Premiership according to the RugbyPass Index.

Evans had a meteoric rise through the ranks at the end of the 2015/16 Tigers season, making his senior debut for Leicester Tigers and then going to the World Under-20s Championships with England. However this season has seen chances for him to impress few and far between.

A product of the Tigers academy, the compact backrow (6 foot, 90.5kg) gained international recognition at four age-group levels and impressed enough in senior company to earn a Premiership debut against Gloucester at Welford Road in April 2016, having just turned 19 in January of that year.

ADVERTISEMENT

He made three more appearances that season, including in the semi-final at Saracens.

Originally from Norwich, Evans is a former student at rugby nursery Wymondham College, where Tigers colleague George Worth was a team-mate.

According to Leicester Tigers’ website, he was then selected for the Under-20s World Championships in Manchester in 2016 and marked his debut with a try in a win over Scotland.

After 18 first-team appearances in 2016/17, he joined England Under-20s for another World Juniors in the summer of 2017 as part of a squad which reached the Final.

ADVERTISEMENT