Players / High Five / Ieuan Evans

When I was growing up my biggest hero was Gerald Davies. He was brought up in a village about five miles away and went to the same school and played in the same position.

 

His ability to beat people was legendary, and he was the player I aspired to be. Growing up, you need those kind of heroes and inspirations, and he was mine. In the halcyon days of Welsh rugby winning Triple Crowns and Grand Slams for fun, he was my ultimate hero.

 

Every time he touched ball there was a wow factor. He was a very small man with a huge talent and he had a very slight frame compared to modern wingers. But ou can’t quash talent like that, you’re going to come through even against the monsters these days.

 

Just look at the Christophe Dominici, Jason Robinson and Shane Williams - plenty of talent and room for the nimble of mind and fleet of foot.

He was box office. David Duckham had a swerve and a swagger, the ability to beat people with ease. It’s players like that you wanted to see on the field of play. They put bums on seats and he was as charismatic a crowd-pleaser as any other English player of his time.

 

They really inspired a generation of youngsters, attacking rugby, which is what it was all about. He was the only English back in the famous Barbarians line-up against the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973. He threw an outrageous dummy during that match that everyone in the crowd and the TV cameras bought wholesale.

 

In a period when the Welsh backs ruled the world, he was the only English player who Wales supporters Wales feared and alongside John Spencer he was part of England’s greatest ever centre pairing.

When he plays - which isn’t that often - he can do things that other players dream of. He's got power, pace and the ability to beat people. He punches second rows for fun, very much an enigma... You don’t know when he’s going to turn up from one month to the next.

 

If he decided to get fit one day, he would just be unstoppable. He has so much natural talent, he could be one of the global superstars of the sport if he was hungry for the recognition. It’s probably too late for him now, which is sad, but that's the way it goes sometimes with that kind of talent.

 

He rarely plays for Fiji, he shows up now and again in Agen. He’s what you call a folk hero, a cult hero with the ability to do things people can only dream about.

He’s the most potent attacking weapon in the history of rugby union - there’s no other way to describe him.

 

He was a revelation and left bodies scattered all over the pitch. Iit was an indication of the way rugby was going. Very physical, he had the balance of someone half his size, a good change of pace, the ability to beat people, and is a smashing guy to boot.

 

Just look at the two World Cups in 1995 & 1999 - he was leaving bodies everywhere particularly a number of English bodies darted all over the field. He was a global superstar that crossed rugby boundaries.

I marked him on so many occasions. He practically won the 1991 World Cup single-handed. A prodigious talent - and he knew it - but what a wonderful runner, handler and kicker. Campo was a superb all-round sportsman.

 

Unpredictability, wonderful footballing skills, supreme rugby intellect - the biggest compliment you can give him is he made you forget about your game, such was your focus on watching what he was doing. It's pretty much the same since he retired from the game as well/ He can't stop himself from courting controversy and winding people up. Especially the Poms.

 

We’ve had some great battles, especially on the Lions tour in 1989. I hope it's one of those rugby rivalries that will be remembered for some time to come.