Rugby: I will never play rugby in NZ again, says Evans

Nick Evans enjoys playing ruby in England. Photo / Getty Images

He admits he still feels homesick at times, and suspects he'll never get over that.

Yet Nick Evans, the man who could have solved all Graham Henry's concerns and doubts about the back-up to Dan Carter for the Rugby World Cup next year, says starkly: "I will never play rugby in New Zealand again. It's too late for going back."

Evans, the great lost talent as far as New Zealand first five-eighths is concerned, will be at Twickenham tomorrow to see the All Blacks play England. But only as a spectator.

So won't he feel torn, not just this weekend but especially during the World Cup next year when he could well have been involved as Carter's obvious replacement?

"Definitely, yes. The old nostalgia will come back. But it's too late for me. It would have been nice to come over here [to England] earlier in my career, but I was a late starter, didn't play a first class game until I was 21/22. I made the All Blacks when I was 24 but the next thing you know you are 28 and at the end of this year I will be 30.

"When this contract finishes, I will be 32 so you have to look at it realistically. If I had come over when I was a bit younger I would have gone back. But as things stand I have pretty much closed it off [going back].

"But I don't regret the decision I made. I am enjoying my rugby, enjoying London. You have got to enjoy your job and I do ... I am able to do and experience things I would never have done in New Zealand.

"My pressure compared to Dan Carter's pressure is a lot different. Living in New Zealand as the central focus of the All Blacks is the greatest pressure you could imagine."

But why would he have turned his back on the All Blacks? Was that pressure too great?

"To a certain extent, I must admit I am glad to be out of all that.

"It is probably more the expectation required by the public of the boys. We felt that in 2007. That was why it was so gutting for us to see the public reaction when the boys got back home. There will be even more pressure next time with the World Cup actually in New Zealand."

So who does Evans believe the All Blacks should opt for as Dan Carter's back-up in the squad? The choice is critical for, as Evans himself says, "Dan Carter and Richie McCaw are very influential players. When they are not there, there's a certain amount of panic that emerges."

And Carter's deputy? "I think Aaron Cruden was dumped a bit early. He had that one test match [in Sydney] he started plus a few 10-minute jobs.

"Colin Slade and Stephen Brett seem to have gone off the radar. Then there's Stephen Donald. It was definitely unfortunate for him what happened in Hong Kong at the end and I know how he must have felt - I have been in that position before."

Is Donald really a test-level player? "He wouldn't be there if they didn't think he was test level ... For me, this tour would have been ideal to blood someone. Now, there is not a lot of time to mix and match any new blood before the World Cup. You want someone with at least 10 caps under his belt, especially in that position."

Which strengthens the case for Stephen Donald, despite Hong Kong.

As for this weekend, Evans is more exact in his forecasts. "I think it will be a good game, but I can't see England's fitness levels lasting the full 80 minutes ... England have only been together for two weeks and that is not enough time."