Alleged rugby 'star' now in Hawke's Bay

A former Rotorua man who created an international stir by allegedly posing as a Lions rugby star has re-surfaced in Hastings.
Gary Evans has been living at a boarding house and approaching real-estate agents about buying property.
Mr Evans made international headlines last year, after suspicions were raised about his identity, prompting media to contact the real Gareth Evans, a former Lions and Wales rugby international.
Later, a man reportedly phoned the newspaper to "confess" to the ruse, saying his real name was Gary Evans, and he'd been posing as the rugby star for 20 years.
He's now understood to have been dealing with local real-estate agents.
The man has given his name as Gareth Evans, and reportedly told at least one person he represented Wales in rugby.
One who spoke to him described him as "very convincing", but another described him as "over the top with self-importance".
When approached by Hawke's Bay Today, the man admitted to being the person at the centre of the identity issue.
But he said he hadn't claimed to be the Welsh player, and that he'd never made the phone "confession".
Asked if he'd posed as the rugby international, he said he had made only "a few comments to a couple of people".
The media stories were "nonsense," and he'd become ill as a result.
"Have I hurt anybody, have I harmed anybody, are the police interested? No."
Mr Evans said he moved to Hastings to work as an engineer, but now had a heart condition.
In Rotorua, reports said he was invited to civic functions and made a guest of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union at a match.
The real Lions player said last year he was concerned to learn someone may be posing as him.
Gareth Evans told the Western Mail in Wales that he hoped the man was "just trying to open a few doors for himself".
"At the moment I have no evidence to suggest it is anything more sinister. It's such a long time ago that I suppose he can get away with it because no one remembers."
The real Mr Evans toured New Zealand with the Lions in 1977 and now works as a financial planner.