Rugby: Evans wings it for bro

Max Evans. Photo / Getty Images

Max Evans had plenty to play for on the right wing for Scotland yesterday against Romania in Invercargill.

Evans was in the same position his brother Thom filled before he was stretchered from Millennium Stadium in February last year with a broken neck after a collision with Welsh fullback Lee Byrne. Thom Evans damaged his vertebrae so badly, doctors said another millimetre's damage would have had him wheelchair-bound for life or perhaps dead.

Then 25, his rugby career was over - but he is working as a television pundit with British television network ITV during the World Cup. He may even be flown out to New Zealand to join Max if Scotland qualify for the quarter-finals.

Max, the older Evans, turns 28 later this month and has been given the right wing to roam and seize attacking opportunities by coach Andy Robinson as Scotland seek to continue a remarkable World Cup run that has seen them make every World Cup top eight since the tournament's inception.

Evans is quite a sporting talent. He even had a crack as a golf professional in Portugal from 2004-06 when recovering from a back injury.

He is a fully qualified PGA teaching professional, has played off a handicap of two and has not ruled out going back to golf after rugby. His father Brian has been director of golf at a Portuguese resort complex.

Evans will not be alone in his pursuit of World Cup glory. His girlfriend, 23-year-old actress Katy Johnson, has added a touch of Hollywood glamour to the streets of Invercargill.

She also commuted to and from Glasgow when Evans was playing at the Warriors. Johnson mainly works in Los Angeles forging a career in the film, television and modelling industries. She recently filmed a second series of Clifton Shore in Cape Town; it is South Africa's version of America's Jersey Shore.

Evans takes up a new contract at French Top 14 side Castres after the World Cup. Johnson intends to live there with him when she's not filming.