Elen Evans
{{Short description|Wales international rugby union player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = Elen Evans
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|1|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales
| height = {{convert|1.6|m|ft}}
| weight = {{convert|68|kg|st}}
| relatives = Geraint Evans, Dylan Evans
| ru_currentposition = Centre
| ru_currentteam = Caernarfon RFC/Scarlets
| position =
| amatyears1 =
| amatteam1 = Caernarfon RFC
| amatteam2 = Scarlets
| ru_amateurclubcaps =
| ru_amateurclubpoints =
| years1 =
| apps1 =
| points1 =
| ru_clubupdate =
| repyears1 = 2004–2017
| repteam1 = Wales
| repcaps1 = 73
| reppoints1 =
| ru_ntupdate = 1 May 2016
| repsevensyears1 =
| repsevenscomp1 =
}}
Elen Evans (born 9 January 1985) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays centre or wing for Caernarfon RFC, the Scarlets and the Wales women's national rugby union team. She won her first international cap against Ireland in the 2004 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Playing career
Elen Evans was born in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion on 9 January 1985.{{cite web |url= https://www.eurosport.co.uk/rugby/elen-evans_prs398022/person.shtml |title= Elen Evans |work= Eurosport |accessdate= 25 February 2019}} {{as of|2016}}, her official Wales Rugby Union biography states that she is {{convert|1.6|m|ft}} tall, and weighs {{convert|68|kg|st}}.{{cite web|title=Elen Evans|url=http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/matchcentre/squads_wales_women.php?player=97149&includeref=dynamic|publisher=Wales Rugby Union|accessdate=1 May 2016}}
She won her first cap for the Wales women's national rugby union team at the age of 18 against Ireland in the 2004 Women's Six Nations Championship. Since then she has commuted four times a week from Dolgellau, Gwynedd, to Cardiff, in order to take part in training. This is a round trip of some six hours.{{cite news|title=Six Nations: The hectic schedule of Wales centre Elen Evans|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/26467390|accessdate=1 May 2016|work=BBC Sport|date=6 March 2014}}
When she was first called up to the team, she was travelling at her own expense although the team has since paid her travel expenses. She works full-time in Dolgellau at her uncle's (Gwyndaf Evans) car dealership.{{cite news|last1=Pickup|first1=Oliver|title=Dedication keeps Evans in for long haul|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/sport/rugby-fitness/11943082/womens-rugby-players.html|accessdate=1 May 2016|work=Daily Telegraph|date=20 October 2015}} During the game against Scotland in the 2011 Women's Six Nations Championship she scored four three tries; she scored a further try in another match and ended the tournament as the Welsh top scorer.
Evans was one of the torch bearers during the torch relay prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics. She carried the torch while on board a lifeboat as it crossed the Menai Strait between Anglesey and the Welsh mainland.{{cite web|last1=Davies|first1=Eleri|title=Olympic Torch takes to the water on a Welsh lifeboat|url=http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/Olympic-Torch-takes-to-the-water-on-a-Welsh-lifeboat.aspx|publisher=Royal National Lifeboat Institution|accessdate=6 May 2016|date=29 May 2012}} After she was picked for the Welsh squad at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, she had to take two weeks of unpaid leave from her job to attend the tournament. At club level, she currently plays for Caernarfon RFC and the Scarlets.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Wales Squad 2017 Rugby World Cup}}
{{Wales 2014 WRWC Squad}}
{{Wales squad 2010 WRWC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Elen}}
Category:Welsh female rugby union players
Category:21st-century Welsh sportswomen
Category:Rugby union players from Aberystwyth
Category:Wales women's international rugby union players