Pillow fights in the dormitories at Napier Boys’ High School prepared Gareth Evans well for life as a professional rugby player and added to his deep affection for the Hawke’s Bay.
After completing a double-degree at Otago University, the Hurricanes 26-year-old loose forward has settled in with what he proudly describes as his “home” Investec Super Rugby club.
Evans was born, bred in the Hawke’s Bay where the region’s soil and sun provided for a family of three growing boys with a love of rugby and fresh fruit among the orchard run by their Kiwi dad Dai and Zimbabwean-born mother Jenny.
“I was born in Hastings Hospital and I live out in Havelock North. I went to primary school there at Hereworth [intermediate] and on to Napier Boys’ High School,” he told C60 ahead of the 2018 Investec Super Rugby season. “I’m not from a massive family, but I’m the youngest of three brothers. I have a middle brother Rhys and an older brother Bryn.
“All three of us played rugby, but Rhys took a different direction [for his career] as a wine maker, so he’s over in Canada and Bryn is still playing rugby in the Premiership [for Sale Sharks in England]. Mum and dad support us all equally. They are orchadists in the Hawke’s Bay. We have about 40 acres in the middle of Havelock growing stone fruits, apples, pears, nectarines, all sorts.”
In fact, Rhys was good enough to represent Hawke’s Bay B, while Bryn played 25 matches for the Hurricanes between 2009 and 2011 and was capped twice at lock for the All Blacks against France in 2009.
The Evans boys were all products of Napier Boys’ High School and Gareth cannot speak more highly of the institution that taught him plenty of life and rugby lessons.
“I was a six-day boarder, so would stay overnight Friday so I could play rugby on Saturday, then my parents would pick me up and I’d be home for the weekend,” he said. “Boarding was just an awesome experience where you met lifelong friends. I loved every minute of it. The camaraderie, the friends you meet… life in the hostels, the pillow fights, eating in the big dining room. It was just a surreal experience.”
Evans family holidays were spent at Ocean Beach, a long golden beach about 15 minutes from Havelock that lies between Cape Kidnappers to the north and Waimarama to the south.
It’s a long way from land-locked southern Africa where their mother was born.
“Yep, mum was born in Zimbabwe, but moved to South Africa at a very young age and was schooled in Cape Town,” Gareth explains. “She then headed over to London which was where mum and dad met up. I still have relatives in Cape Town, so whenever I get to play over there it’s always good to catch up with them and see what’s going on over the other side of the world.”
Evans’ visits have been reasonably regular over the past four years as he’s carved out an impressive career during 43 matches for the Highlanders including helping the club to its first Investec Super Rugby title in 2015.
He loved his time in Dunedin, a place he arrived in without any real expectations other than completing his degree in geography and environmental management.
The next chapter of life will be solely about his rugby and he admits his first season with the Hurricanes will be a special one.
“It’s awesome to be with my home franchise, the Hurricanes and to be close to family and friends. It’s only a three-hour drive up the road [to Havelock] and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to the new environment and meeting some new people. It’s going to be awesome.”