Evans pens new Ospreys deal

Ospreys Rugby have confirmed that Dan Evans has signed a new contract at the club becoming the third out-of-contract Osprey to sign a new deal over the last week, following on from Luke Morgan and Cory Allen.

 The news comes just two days after Evans once again rewrote the history books, becoming the first Osprey to ever score four tries in a Celtic League fixture, helping the Ospreys to a bonus point derby win over the Dragons.

Those four tries saw Evans leapfrog Ospreys legends Tommy Bowe, Nikki Walker and Rhys Webb into second place in the all-time try scoring list with 40 to his name.

What a weekend....

1st to score 4 tries in 1 #GuinnessPRO14 match for the Ospreys ✔️
Climb to second in the all-time try-scoring list at the region on 40 ✔️
Official Man of the Match ✔️

Anything else we've forgotten? pic.twitter.com/1ldpv30jq7

— Ospreys (@ospreys) March 25, 2019

“I’m delighted to sign a new deal and excited about what the future holds” said Evans.

“I’m over the moon to be here for the foreseeable future. It’s been a tough old season where you are not just thinking about games you are thinking about your future. It’s been tough for everyone in the squad but now we can move on and hopefully build for an exciting end to the season.

“I love playing rugby, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I just want to keep playing well and hopefully see the Ospreys succeed.”

Evans has been a constant in the Ospreys line-up since arriving at the Liberty Stadium in the summer of 2014, racking up a host of impressive records along the way.

Making his debut in a 44-13 win over Benetton on the opening day of the 14/15 campaign, an astonishing run of games saw him race to the quickest century of appearances in the Region’s history, taking just three years, three months and four days to hit 100, a full four months quicker than the previous fastest.

Ever present for the Ospreys in the Guinness PRO12 across his first three seasons, it wasn’t until the penultimate fixture of his fourth campaign, in April 2018, that he missed a game in the competition. In that time he set the Championship all-time record for consecutive appearances, his tally of 87 an incredible 26 ahead of Ian Keatley’s previous competition record of 61 PRO12 appearances on the bounce.

The only player to have made 30 competitive appearances in a single season for the Ospreys, when he played 31 times in 2016/17, his 11 tries last season saw him top the list for the campaign, a season that saw him crowned Players’ Player of the Year, to go with his Supporters Award in 2015.

Head Coach, Allen Clarke, said:

“Dan's contract extension reflects the consistency of performance he has displayed over the last five seasons for the Ospreys. He’s vastly experienced and I believe his attacking game will continue to develop working alongside our attack coach Matt Sheratt. The announcement is timely on the back of his individual performance on Saturday with a personal tally of four tries. We see Dan as a valuable player for us over the next couple of seasons.”

Via: Ospreys