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Niall Evalds

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Niall Evalds
Personal information
Born (1993-08-26) 26 August 1993 (age 31)
Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)[1]
Playing information
PositionFullback, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–20 Salford Red Devils 160 111 0 0 444
2013(loan) → Oldham 1 1 0 0 4
2014(loan) → Barrow Raiders 5 5 0 0 20
2017(loan) → Halifax 2 0 0 0 0
2021–23 Castleford Tigers 37 9 0 0 36
2024– Hull KR 28 10 0 0 32
Total 233 136 0 0 536
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–19 England Knights 2 0 0 0 0
2021 England 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3]
As of 29 March 2024

Niall Evalds (born 26 August 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback or winger for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League, and the England Knights and England at international level.

He has previously played for the Salford Red Devils and the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. He has spent time on loan from Salford at Oldham in the Championship 1 and at the Barrow Raiders in the Championship, and on dual registration from Salford at Halifax in the Championship.

Evalds has received one cap for England, and represented the England Knights twice. He holds the Salford club record for most Super League tries.[4] He was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy in the 2021 Challenge Cup final.

Early life

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Evalds was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. He is of Latvian descent through his paternal grandfather Jānis ("John"), who settled in Halifax during World War II.[citation needed]

Career

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Salford Red Devils

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Evalds made his Super League debut on 9 February 2013 against the Catalans Dragons.[5][6]

He became Salford Red Devils leading Super League try scorer when he scored his 66th try in the competition against London Broncos in 2019.[citation needed]

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford.[7][8][9]

In May 2020, Salford Director Paul King stated that Evalds had rejected the opportunity to extend his contract with the Red Devils into 2021.

On 17 October 2020, he played for Salford in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final which Salford lost 17–16 against the Leeds Rhinos.[10]

Castleford Tigers

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In August 2020, shortly after Super League's resumption following its COVID-19 suspension, it was announced that Evalds had signed a one-year contract with the Castleford Tigers for the 2021 season.[11] He said of the move, "This was an opportunity to take up a new challenge at Cas and have to prove myself all over again."[12] Tigers head coach Daryl Powell described Evalds as "a high-quality player with a real instinct for rugby league".[12]

Evalds made his Castleford debut and scored his first try for the club on 28 March 2021 against the Warrington Wolves.[13] In May 2021, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Tigers, with the option of an additional year.[14] On 17 July 2021, Evalds appeared in his second successive Challenge Cup final as Castleford faced St Helens at Wembley Stadium.[15] He scored a try for Castleford and was voted winner of the Lance Todd Trophy for player of the match, despite the Tigers falling to a 12-26 defeat.[16][17] He became the fourth Castleford player, and tenth from a losing side, to claim the award.[18] He finished the season having made 20 appearances and scored 7 tries.

Castleford's new head coach for the 2022 season, Lee Radford, was impressed by the ability of Evalds; he said, "I had him amongst the elite fullbacks in the competition, but he has probably surpassed that for me."[19] A hamstring injury limited Evalds' playtime early in the year, and a ruptured bicep suffered in April ruled him out until July.[20] On his second game back, he sustained a shoulder injury in the process of scoring a try against Warrington, which ended his season prematurely.[21]

In March 2023, Evalds suffered another "freak injury" to his other shoulder. He said, "I want to play every game. Before the last year that's what I used to do."[22] He made a try-saving tackle on Joe Burgess on his return against Salford in round 9.[23] In May, he unfortunately suffered yet another injury - he underwent surgery on a pectoral tear, which brought an end to his season after just 7 appearances.[24] The Tigers later decided against offering a contract extension, with head coach Andy Last explaining, "We're not in a position at this moment to make him an offer because he's not playing. We need to make sure we cut our cloth accordingly and spend our budget."[25][26] In August 2023, Castleford announced that Evalds would depart the club at the end of the season. He said, "I want to thank everyone at Cas, the fans, staff, and my teammates. They have all supported me through the tough times these last couple of years and I leave with lots of good memories at Cas."[27]

Hull Kingston Rovers

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On 23 August 2023, it was announced that Evalds would join Hull Kingston Rovers on a two-year deal from the 2024 season.[28][29] Evalds made his club debut for Hull Kingston Rovers against arch-rivals Hull F.C. in round 1 of the 2024 Super League season. Evalds scored two tries on debut as Hull Kingston Rovers won the derby 22-0.[30] On 12 October 2024, Evalds played in Hull Kingston Rovers 2024 Super League Grand Final loss against Wigan.[31]

International career

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In July 2018 he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad.[32] Later that year he was selected for the England Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. He played in their 12-16 victory against Papua New Guinea at the Lae Football Stadium in Lae.[33][34]

In 2019 he was selected for the England Knights in their 38-6 victory against Jamaica at Headingley Rugby Stadium.[35][36]

Evalds earned his first senior England cap in their 30-10 victory over France at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on 23 October 2021.[37][38]

Statistics

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Club career

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Season Team App T G DG Pts
2013 Salford City Reds 7 4 0 0 16
2013 Oldham R.L.F.C. (loan) 1 1 0 0 4
2014 Salford Red Devils 13 6 0 0 24
2014 Barrow Raiders (loan) 5 5 0 0 20
2015 Salford Red Devils 25 19 0 0 76
2016 21 16 0 0 64
2017 23 16 0 0 64
2017 Halifax RLFC (loan) 2 0 0 0 0
2018 Salford Red Devils 24 13 0 0 52
2019 35 27 0 0 108
2020 12 10 0 0 40
2021 Castleford Tigers 20 7 0 0 28
2022 10 2 0 0 8
2023 7 0 0 0 0
Totals 205 126 0 0 504

(* denotes season still competing)

References

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  1. ^ "Niall Evalds Biography". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  2. ^ Rugby League Project
  3. ^ "Player Summary: Niall Evalds". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ Dainton, Fraser; Bazeley, Marc (10 February 2021). "Niall Evalds: Salford's record Super League try-scorer on his new challenge at Castleford". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Catalans 40-6 Salford". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Catalan Dragons 40-6 Salford". BBC Sport. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  7. ^ Heppenstall, Ross; Bagchi, Rob (12 October 2019). "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  8. ^ Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
  10. ^ "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". BBC Sport.
  11. ^ "Niall Evalds: Castleford Tigers sign full-back from Salford Red Devils". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Niall Evalds signs for Castleford Tigers for 2021 season from Salford Red Devils". Sky Sports. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Super League: Castleford 21-12 Warrington - Daryl Powell's Tigers too good for Wire". BBC Sport. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Niall Evalds: Castleford Tigers full-back extends contract". BBC Sport. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  15. ^ Scott, Ged (17 July 2021). "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  16. ^ Craven, Dave (17 July 2021). "Lance Todd Trophy winner Niall Evalds left "heartbroken" by second Challenge Cup final loss". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  17. ^ "How St Helens players have celebrated their first Challenge Cup win in 13 years". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
  18. ^ Bazeley, Marc (20 July 2021). "Niall Evalds: Bittersweet emotions for Castleford Tigers' Lance Todd Trophy winner after Challenge Cup final loss". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  19. ^ Thomson, Doug (30 January 2022). "Why Castleford Tigers' Niall Evalds is surpassing Lee Radford's expectations". TotalRL. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  20. ^ Ibbetson, Stephen (26 April 2022). "Castleford Tigers boss puts timescale on Niall Evalds injury blow". TotalRL. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  21. ^ Ibbetson, Stephen (21 July 2022). "Castleford Tigers fullback Niall Evalds expected to miss rest of season". TotalRL. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  22. ^ Smith, Peter (12 April 2023). "Castleford Tigers' Niall Evalds talks 'freak injuries', team momentum and facing old side Salford Red Devils". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Salford Red Devils 14-6 Castleford Tigers: Play-off chasing hosts battle past Super League strugglers". Sky Sports. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  24. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (25 May 2023). "Castleford suffer huge injury blow to full-back Niall Evalds". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  25. ^ O'Brien, James (8 June 2023). "Hull KR target Niall Evalds set to leave Castleford Tigers, confirms Andy Last". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  26. ^ Shaw, Matthew (8 June 2023). "Hull KR cleared to sign Niall Evalds as Castleford Tigers boss denies interest in FC talent". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Evalds to depart the Fords". Castleford Tigers. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Niall Evalds: Hull KR to sign Castleford full-back from 2024 season on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  29. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (23 August 2023). "Hull KR swoop for Castleford Tigers speedster with utility value earmarked". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Hull FC 0-22 Hull KR - Rovers win season opener as hosts have two sent off". www.bbc.co.uk.
  31. ^ "Wigan v Hull KR: Super League Grand Final 2024 – as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  32. ^ "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  33. ^ "England Knights squad to face PNG in first Test". Rugby-League.com. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  34. ^ "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  35. ^ Smith, Peter (20 October 2019). "England Knights 38 Jamaica 6: Minikin hat-trick scures Knights win". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  36. ^ "England Knights vs Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  37. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (23 October 2021). "France 10-30 England: Bateman, Farrell, Davies, Makinson with tries". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  38. ^ "France vs England". Sky Sports. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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