Ace Evans pushes his case for Wales

JARROD Evans gave watching Wales coach Wayne Pivac a firm nudge by producing the only moment of class in a dour derby which saw Blues seal a quickfire double over their rivals.

- ROGER PANTING

Superb awareness and a delightful off-load from Evans sent Matthew Morgan racing away to give Blues an early lead, which they never surrendered.

Blues interim head coach Dai Young, returning to the region after a nine-year absence, missed Evans’ magic as he was delayed by a road accident.

Young said: “It was frustrating as I missed the first 15 minutes by being stationary on the motorway for four and a half hours.

“But I have been watching Jarrod from afar and he is a huge talent. He’s level headed and is a big part of the Blues. Recently he’s had to shoulder a lot of the burden but I believe there’s a bit more to come.

“You can never underestimate a win down here – it’s a tough place to come so you have to savor it.”

Full-blown trial games are a thing of the past but this was as near as you could get to it in the modern era with 16 of the Welsh squad in their final competitive action before Pivac announces his team to face Ireland on February 7.