Jarrod Evans: Cardiff fly-half hopes to 'turn heads' after Wales omission
- Published
Jarrod Evans' most recent Wales appearance came against Argentina in July 2021
Jarrod Evans hopes his form for Cardiff will "turn heads" after he was left out of Wales' Six Nations squad.
The playmaking fly-half has impressed recently and produced a man-of-the-match display in Saturday's United Rugby Championship win over Leinster.
Evans, 25, has eight caps for Wales but, after missing last autumn's Tests with injury, was overlooked by head coach Wayne Pivac for the Six Nations.
"I haven't had any contact from Wales or anything since the summer," he said.
"My focus here is with Cardiff and that's all I can say on it really. We go again. We've got a week off now and then a game against Zebre.
"It's important we get back on the horse with our clubs and hopefully that turns heads.
"That's the only way you can approach it. You can't get too down, you've just got to get on with it. Everything happens for a reason.
"There are a few boys in our squad who have been unlucky, that's just my opinion and that means nothing really."
After Pivac named his Wales squad for the Six Nations earlier this month, Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young singled out Evans and another overlooked Cardiff player, wing Owen Lane, for praise.
Both have been in and out of recent Wales squads, with Lane's omission one of the most surprising on this occasion.
He responded with a strong performance against Leinster, scoring the game's opening try with a blistering finish.
Scrum V Highlights: Cardiff 29-27 Leinster
Evans also caught the eye, capping an excellent all-round display by slotting over the match-winning penalty with the final kick of the game.
Unlike Lane, who was told by Pivac and his coaches how he must improve to earn a Wales recall, Evans has not heard from international management since he was most recently in the squad last summer.
"How it normally works is they contact the boys who were in the autumn squad who didn't get in this squad," he said.
"I wasn't in the autumn squad with my sternum [injury] and I just didn't get picked [for the Six Nations]. I haven't had any contact.
"Dai's been brilliant and the coaches here have been brilliant with me. I'm just happy I can string some games together and put my best foot forward for this club."
Evans has certainly done that in the few fixtures Cardiff have been able to play during a season disrupted by Covid-19, quarantine and match postponements.
Having beaten reigning champions Leinster for the first time since 2011, Evans hopes Cardiff can use the result as a springboard for the rest of their season.
"I've seen it happen with previous Cardiff teams. Games like that are momentum changers and hopefully we can build and build and build," he said.
"It's been well documented we haven't had the smoothest season due to numerous reasons with Covid. We haven't had any flow, like last week we couldn't get back-to-back games together.
"For the boys to come out and put a performance like that against a Leinster team who've been playing week in, week out is unreal really."
