All Black Nick Evans off to Harlequins

All Black and Auckland Blues fly half Nick Evans is another in the continued player drain from New Zealand, as he has confirmed he will join Guinness Premiership club Harlequins following the Air New Zealand Cup.

The 28-year-old has signed a deal that will keep him at The Stoop until 2011. In deciding to move to England, Evans has almost certainly ruled himself out of contention for the 2011 World Cup, after the New Zealand Union, said it will continue to select players based in the country.

Evans says it was too good an opportunity to turn down. "If I looked back, I would be a fool if I didn't take this opportunity," he said. "It never came down to margins and things like that. It was just about the lifestyle choice and what I wanted to do."

Evans would not reveal what the contract was worth but said he had made a three-year commitment to the Harlequins, a club with a rich history, and he had no regrets.

With Dan Carter out of the mix, the big question now is who will be the next in line for the prestigeous All Black number 10 jersey? Young Stephen Brett of the Crusaders would probably be the front runner, despite his inexperience on the international stage. Stephen Donald of the Chiefs blows hot and cold. So, it's a bit of a tough call for the NZ selectors.

Note: In this interesting interview we hear from the man himself on his reasons why the move makes sense.
Our question to you is, do Rugbydump viewers want to see more of these type of clips, or just stick to the action on the field?

Posted at 9:27 pm | 42 comments

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