Emotional appearance by recovering Thom Evans gave players added motivation, reveals brother Max

Published on Sunday 14 March 2010 23:30

SCOTLAND players revealed after Saturday's Calcutta Cup draw with England their seriously injured winger Thom Evans had played a major role in providing motivation on the eve of the game.

Max Evans had stated last week his younger brother hoped to be able to see the squad for the first time as a whole since he was carried from the Millennium Stadium pitch last month with a spinal injury suffered in a tackle against Wales. He has undergone two operations to stabilise his spine since then and, though facing a lengthy period of recovery, is walking again.

However, Max explained how he had played a key role on Friday night by speaking to the team and presenting Dan Parks with his 50th Test jersey and Dr James Robson with his own match jersey from the Wales game, as a thank-you for the medic's care of his injury, on and off the pitch.

"Thom did really well to get through all he wanted to say because it was very emotional and the boys appreciated it and it gave us all a lift, massively," he said.

"It was easy for me but it was good for some of the other guys as well just to remember we were playing for somebody else as well. Guys put their bodies on the line and sometimes that results in what happened to Thommy, but it was great reminding each other in the changing room before we went out."

Parks admitted Evans' gesture had given him renewed confidence ahead of the game. He had been unsure whether to follow the time-honoured tradition for 50th cap winners of running out alone onto the pitch at the start, and he was nervous as his last appearance at Murrayfield in 2008 had ended with him being jeered from the field. But he was afforded great applause and his goal-kicks proved crucial again in the match's outcome.

"It was a touching moment when he (Thom Evans] came up and met the guys on Friday night," Parks said. "Thom is a great guy and I miss playing with him. It was a great occasion, very emotional. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house, but it was great to see him up and walking about.

"Personally, I felt very privileged. Thom spoke highly of me and of the friendship we have. That (pre-match applause] was also nice; really pleasing. It was a bit different the last time I was here, which was obviously a disappointing time, but it was certainly a happier one this time. It made me privileged to play for Scotland. The crowd was great all game. It was just a shame we couldn't repay them with the win."

There was no mistaking the deflation as the team trooped off Murrayfield, players struggling to know how to feel about a draw, the 18th in 127 Calcutta Cups and first since Robinson played for England in the fixture, in 1989.

Max Evans said: "Personally, I am very frustrated. It's great for Scotland to at least get a draw and not a loss. It is a weird feeling but not the same feeling we would have if we had lost that game. We deserved to win it and had lots of chances, but credit to England because they defended very well.

"But we have to be ber clinical in their 22 and come away with tries. Dan had an awesome 50-cap game and hit the post a couple of times so it was very frustrating.

"There was a good feeling in the changing room afterwards, even if it was a slightly weird one. We had talked all week of how physical we were going to be and how hard we had to run onto the ball, and we were dangerous at times, with the likes of Graeme Morrison, who was under a lot of pressure going into this game. He was unbelievable to watch, the kind of speed he was running into people, and it's stuff like that we will take on.

"We can't just raise our level against England – we have to raise our game for the Ireland game."

Asked what he felt the players needed to do to turn the hard work and pressure into the elusive match-winning tries, he replied: "One extra pass to the guy in space. Mainly, it's about not panicking when you get into the 22, and thinking we must score and so go hell for leather like headless chickens.

"If we are in there let's try and be slicker and come away with a try. That's what the best teams like New Zealand do. Every time they will be disappointed coming away from the 22 with just three points.

"That is what I see us getting to. We have the potential to do it and we are getting closer and closer. It won't happen in a week, but it will get better in a week, and things will come off better next week. It is a matter of time."