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How young Blues midfielder overcame three ACL knee injuries
Corey Evans has blown his ACL three times, damaging both knees. The joy derived from mates playing rugby was part of his stubborn refusal not to quit.
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“It’s unfortunate, bro. It’s a part of sport. There are lots of people to thank for helping me stay positive; the biggest ones being my family and the physios,” Evans told RugbyPass.
“I’d get itchy feet watching my mates on the sidelines. I just had to be part of it.”
Evans is among a growing contingent of Blues players, not yet household names, delivering strong performances in Super Rugby Pacific as the team builds greater substance.
The Blues have always had plenty of ‘star power’ but in 2024 it’s performances from the likes of Laghlan McWhannell, Josh Beehre, Cole Forbes, AJ Lam, and Evans that suggest the Blues have a greater resilience.
Evans has played in two victories against Moana Pasifika (47-8) and the Force (50-3). At the halfway stage of the season, the Blues are in second place with six wins and just a solitary defeat to leaders the Hurricanes in Round 3.
“Second is a good reflection of the work that’s gone in and the game plan we’ve developed built around showcasing our strengths,” Evans said.
“My game is about taking the ball to the line, being a playmaker, distrusting when I need to or seeing miss-matches in front of me.
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“I want to be a triple threat: run, kick, and pass. Doing all those things consistently will take my game to the next level.”
Waipapakauri is a small settlement in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 at the isthmus of the Aupouri Peninsula. The larger settlement of Awanui lies to the southeast. Waipapakauri is some 12 km to the north of Kaitaia, the nearest town.
It was in Waipapakauri where Evans’ professional rugby dreams started. His ambitions gained momentum when he attended Auckland Grammar School. He spent three years in the First XV. His second season was ruined by his first ACL injury. In 2018 he captained Grammar and made the New Zealand Secondary Schools.
“I went to Grammar to get a prosperous career. I didn’t quite get there,” Evans laughed.
“My study results were somewhat short of excellence.”
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“Bro that place brought out the best in me. Everyone is competing because everyone wants to be in the top class or the top sports team. It’s not like that in Pukenui.
“My brothers Daniel and Lincoln are at Grammar. That’s huge for them. My parents Donna and Eddie are everything to me. They’ve got this Uber thing going now which means they come to all my games, and I see a lot of them which is important.”
Evans played for the New Zealand Schools in their 24-12 victory over Australia in 2018. Angus Bell, Carter Gordon, Tamiati Williams, and Josh Lord are the most prominent internationals to have emerged from that contest.
Evans was a New Zealand Under 20 selection out of the Grammar Tech club. In 2021 he debuted for Auckland in a memorable 35-24 win against Canterbury at Eden Park. Harry Plummer scored 20 points, and AJ Lam three tries.
Auckland were NPC semi-finalists in 2022 with Evans making a dozen appearances and earning a Super Rugby contact. He played 43 minutes for the Blues in an injury-ravaged season.
Auckland was frustratingly inconsistent in 2023 exiting to Canterbury in the quarter finals. Evans elevated his game to another level under the mentorship of All Black Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and All Blacks Sevens veteran Bryce Heem (22 tournaments). He played nine games and scored tries in victories over Bay of Plenty (32-30), Hawke’s Bay (41-22) and Canterbury (36-29).
“After NPC, I decided to stay away from all the other things you can do on a Saturday night, Evans said.
“A group of boys have been locked in from October to now getting fitter and stronger; making sure everything is consistent on the training field. Our results have been good, we want them to be better.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I like Andy’s critical approach to all hot issues especially when it comes to the rugby big “bosses”. However, sorry Andy, I don’t support your “we shouldn’t be questioning the integrity of Karl Dickson or any other official”. May I ask why? They do have a lot of responsibility, but they are people like us with all their sins and weaknesses. We have to respect their decision during the games, but why they became untouchable afterwards and people cannot even criticize them and the ones, who does express their concerns, got punished for publicly analyzing their mistakes and asking questions. If they believe they did right, there shouldn’t be a problem for any of the refs to answer these “questions” publicly. I don’t really remember such cases. However, I do remember how Craig Joubert shown his running skills in 2015 or Pascal Gauzere shined in Cardiff in 2021. I do believe that Rassie, as anybody else, had a full right to share his vision of Nic Berry’s performance the same year. I do not support the hate in any form especially in public one, but creating the cast of untouchable refs and rugby bosses is not for me. As for Karl, he had all means to question his appointment for the game and since I don’t now whether he did it, blaming just RFU wouldn’t be quite correct at this moment. I love the game of rugby and almost every time I watch it I don’t support any team, I just wanna see the good game and fair referring. Sorry, Karl. last Saturday you got my Craig Joubert”s award of the round. It is up to Karl to prove that I am wrong, not to Andy or RFU’s corporate bla-bla-bla. Something like that…
1 Go to commentswell remember the blues had a guy called jed rowlands for a season. remember scott took his coaching team with him give him time
13 Go to commentswell maybe he needs to be introduced to darcy swain then who never got anything much and put a cheifs ands allblack player out injured and made him miss a season recovering
12 Go to commentswell maybe the match offficals should sort it out if they are worried about it and stop the clock
3 Go to commentsI totally agree. I also believe that minor injuries unless dangerous must be treared OFF the field of play and the game continue with a temp replacement if necessary.
3 Go to commentsSend the bill to McLennan.
3 Go to comments2 out of 3 were perfect. TMOs love jumping in on anything outside the law. The fact they saw nothing wrong speaks volumes. You want to see what a late blindside hit looks like, watch Kepu take out Carter in the 2015 World Cup final. Completely different to the Tah’s tackle.
12 Go to commentsverkeerde kant van die gereg lol
5 Go to commentsJust like John Plumtree at the Sharks he has had a poor start to this season’s coaching gig, but now it looks like he is starting to pull them back also having won 1 game in the first Eleven games they played. It obviously helps that 11 of his fifteen are Springbok players. But now they are starting to improve. No ways they can make it to the playoffs this year but they probably used this season as a way to figure out their game plan. One query I have and I think quite a few people have is: Are they playing better simply because of their international players are back or is it the team strategy led by Rob Penney that is starting to tick? Well I guess we wait and see. Also if it doesn't work out this season, it might be that Rob Penney is using this season as a way to organize himself for next season. Getting all his combinations sorted, his team strategies sorted and figuring out who is best is which position. Now I don't follow Super Rugby any more having now a full focus in the URC but I was surprised about the current Crusaders stats.
13 Go to commentsIf I’m a little bloke, who’s just had possession of the ball, I should expect to get cleaned up by Samipeni Finau if he’s opposite me and I do nothing to avoid him. FTFY You’ll need to rewrite the rest of your article now Hamish Bidwell. I’m not sorry for having missed reading this one. I find it hilarious it’s only the static aussie 10s, just waiting there, that are getting smashed. Move on your feet guys, haven’t you watched DMac and Mounga play for the last decade ffs. Chin up, at least your smiles should return when BB returns to SR next year and there’s more 10s to the fodder.
12 Go to commentsFinau is not leaving a lot of room for error that’s true, but he committed to 3 out of four tackles when the player had the ball so that’s all legal. (And incredibly entertaining)
12 Go to commentsHow does the size of the ‘bloke being hit’ factor into this? If you’re on the opposing team you are fair game. Is Finau the first person in history to target the first five? It seems like this is a great strategy to interrupt your opponents attack. As far as I’m aware, of the four excellent hits on Aussie first fives this year only one of them was ruled late. So if crying about legal tackles isn’t whingeing, then what is it?
12 Go to commentsThings I want to pay attention to this series. 1) Nothing against the other teams in 6 nations, but apart from Irelands loss to england, I dont feel they got tested, So I think this might be tight. 2) Rassie wants to build depth, and would rather do it before a world cup, but I am sure deep inside, he will be reminded that we have not beaten Ireland in years. 3) Will our new coaches plans be sound abd organised in time for the Ireland series? Remember our warm ups might only see our second or third string players available (When are we going to have one universal calander year?) 4) I see Ireland have moved on from Sexton, but what will Farrels plans be for SA? I am sure he will go for a full strength squad. 5) I think the test for the springboks will be the Durban game, it will be in winter, so not too hot for the Irish,no altitude, and it rains allot, might remind them of home. Loftus, if the springboks play the right game, I feel altitude like with most games before, can cause some challanges. 6) Off topic, but who is both Anxious and excited about what the Abs are coming with? A whole new coaching team and different style of play.
126 Go to commentsMost underrated player in world rugby.
2 Go to commentsHow many fans will travel to Qatar to watch these games ? because if they dont, it will be played in front of a few disinterested unknowledgeable Qataris and then just becomes media ‘content’. Thats what Test rugby will be reduced to.
1 Go to commentsSo as long as the playmaker still has the ball IN his hands, its OK. Otherwise the timing is wrong and he’s a liability. No grey line there. Thats the rule he is advocating ? Got it.
12 Go to commentsWrite them off at your peril
13 Go to commentsJust fantastic that the professional game is finally being taken to the Pacific islands. Not before time. It justifies the mere existence of Moana as a club, hopefully they can start to get some positive results too. Check out the sheer joy of the crowds in Fiji and the buzz that having a home team creates. Tonga always had (has ?) issues with their ground not complying with International rugby standards, which NZ always used as an excuse for many years not bringing the All Blacks over. Hopefully this match is the first of many. Would be great to see some tourism grow on the back of it. I once went to the Cook Islands Sevens in Rarotonga - tiny island nation but man did they turn it on. Tonga and Samoa will too given half a chance.
1 Go to commentsQuite right. Punish the time wasters. Its BS these time delays for non-injuries. The Boks have been using it for years now to slow down opposition and now its a scourge on the game. Put players like DeGroot on the sideline and restart play immediately. Watch how 5-6 min to fix your boots quickly becomes 1-2 minutes. Better still how about some personal professional management and you check the conditions/turf beforehand and get yourself better prepared. It might even help your team.
3 Go to commentsWhat drivel. Rugby as a contact sport should not be further diminished by crying over legal hard tackles. Take on the line? Be ready to take the hit. This is PC nonsense.
12 Go to comments