Rugby: Evans earns fulsome praise from England's Haskell

Published on Monday 23 March 2009 09:21

SCOTLAND winger Thom Evans today received as surprise tip for Lions tour glory this summer – from a Twickenham rival.

As the dust settled on Scotland's 26-12 defeat by England Six Nations rookie Evans was singled out by England squad member James Haskell as a "Lions wild card."

Writing in his tournament blog Haskell says: "I'm slightly biased because he (Evans] is an old friend but I thought he looked extremely dangerous on numerous occasions throughout the championship."

One of the occasions when Evans was at his most threatening was during a first-half break along the touchline which ended with another of Haskell's supreme moments – a cover tackle by England winger Ugo Monye. "He was like a cheetah hunting down an antelope," said Haskell.

More praise for Scotland's contribution came from England manager Martin Johnson who admitted his side had to wait before claiming victory.

"Scotland defended very well.

"They kept pressurising us.

"To have that territory and Scotland still to be in the game made us a little bit nervous."

Meanwhile, Scotland may still have a summer get-together despite no formal tour plans.

"We are looking into one or two possibilities and definitely a trip to Romania for the A squad," said coach Frank Hadden.

&#149 EDINBURGH Academicals will play their sixth-round Scottish Hydro Electric national knock-out cup tie against Stirling County at Raeburn Place on Wednesday April 8 (kick-off 6.30pm).