Jarrod Evans: Harlequins fly-half says he is unsure over Wales eligibility
- Published
Jarrod Evans won all eight of his Wales caps under Warren Gatland's predecessor Wayne Pivac
Jarrod Evans remains hopeful of playing for Wales again despite uncertainty over his eligibility following a move to Premiership outfit Harlequins.
The fly-half was among 16 players to leave Cardiff last summer as the club faced a £2m budget cut.
Evans presumed he could not longer play for Wales as he was short of the 25-cap threshold.
But a possible loophole means he may be able to play, if selected, as no Welsh regions made him a contract offer.
"To be honest, I don't know if I'm eligible. I didn't get offered anything by anyone in Wales and I didn't speak to anyone in the Welsh Rugby Union," Evans, capped eight times, told the Scrum V podcast.
"I came [to Harlequins] knowing the 25-cap rule was in place. [But] there might be something in the fact that I wasn't offered a contract, so there might be a loophole.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to play for Wales, but that's obviously not what I wanted and if it is possible for me to play for Wales, I'd love to do that.
"There's nothing in my contract with Harlequins to say that I can't play for Wales, it's just down to whether they pick me. If it was an option, I'd love to play for Wales again."
Cap rule fit for purpose?
Wales are currently without a clear-cut, first-choice number 10.
Evans' potential availability also raises questions over whether Welsh rugby's cap rule is fit for purpose. given the financial difficulties within the game.
Players based outside of Wales must have at least 25 caps to be available for selection by Warren Gatland.
The limit, lowered from 60 in February 2023, was introduced in a bid to keep the top players at the four regions and let the Wales head coach have more preparation time with the national squad.
The policy was put under the spotlight when Joe Hawkins was ruled out of the World Cup following his move from Ospreys to Exeter Chiefs while Henry Thomas, previously capped by England, was ruled eligible as he was uncapped by Wales.
It has again come under scrutiny with uncapped Immanuel Feyi-Waboso set to opt for England ahead of Wales.
The Cardiff-born wing wants to remain at Exeter to complete his medical studies, rather than be forced to return to a Welsh region when his current Chiefs contract expires.
Wales have plenty of options for wing in Louis Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams and Rio Dyer, but number ten is a different story following the loss of Dan Biggar and Gareth Anscombe.
Gatland must pick between four inexperienced fly-halves with fit-again Sam Costelow the heir apparent ahead of Callum Sheedy, Ioan Lloyd and Owen Williams, the only one of the four with more than eight caps.
Evans, who is unavailable for this weekend's Champions Cup game against former club Cardiff due to a knee injury, said: "I'd jump at the opportunity if it came but I haven't been in any of the camps since Wayne Pivac. So all I can do is play well for Quins and take things in my stride."