Niall Evalds

Niall Evalds (born 26 August 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback or winger for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League[3] and the England Knights at international level.[4]

Niall Evalds
Personal information
Full nameNiall Evalds
Born (1993-08-26) 26 August 1993
Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)
Playing information
PositionFullback, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–20 Salford Red Devils 146 101 0 0 404
2013 (loan) → Oldham 1 1 0 0 4
2014 (loan) → Barrow Raiders 5 5 0 0 20
2021– Castleford Tigers 10 3 0 0 12
Total 162 110 0 0 440
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 England Knights 1 0 0 0 0
As of 30 June 2021
Source: [1][2]

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

Early life

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.

Career

Evalds made his début in 2013 against the Catalans Dragons[5]

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

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford.[6][7][8]

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 Leeds.[9]

Evalds signed a contract with Castleford for the 2021 season.[10]

Evalds appeared in his second successive Challenge Cup final as Castleford reached the final of the 2021 Challenge Cup, and ended on the losing side again as Castleford lost 26–12 to St Helens. Evalds scored a try for Castleford and despite being on the losing team was voted winner of the Lance Todd Trophy for player of the match.[11][12]

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad.[13] Later that year he was selected for the England Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. He played against Papua New Guinea at the Lae Football Stadium.[14]

In 2019 he was selected for the England Knights against Jamaica at Headingley Rugby Stadium.[15]

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. RLP
  3. http://www.superleague.co.uk/player/20401
  4. "England Knights v Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. "Catalans 40-6 Salford". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  6. 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.
  7. Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
  8. "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
  9. "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". BBC Sport.
  10. "Niall Evalds: Castleford Tigers sign full-back from Salford Red Devils". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  11. 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.
  12. "How St Helens players have celebrated their first Challenge Cup win in 13 years". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
  13. "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  14. "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  15. "England Knights vs Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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