Running up that hill
Ieuan Evans has realised his dream of building a new home; now the former Wales rugby captain’s thoughts turn to backyard barbecues. RUPERT BATES reports.
Ieuan Evans looks out to the hills of the Vale of Glamorgan near Cardiff and then back towards the garden of his 19th-century barn conversion. It is two days before Wales take on England at the Millennium Stadium in the Six Nations championship.
The former Wales rugby captain might have been dreaming of a home win to stop a record-breaking run of 16 successive defeats for a nation for whom the game is a religion. But, at this moment, Evans, who won 72 caps for his country scoring 33 tries, is thinking about what his dream BBQ area might look like at his stunning rural home near Cowbridge, set in one and a half acres.
Evans likes to dream, and it was nearly 30 years ago on his morning runs through the hills that he first fell in love with the vast derelict barn he jogged past, with cows and sheep the only tenants.
It was a while before he plucked up the courage to ask if the farmer might sell and when it eventually came up for sale, Evans made a bid prior to auction to secure it.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else having it.”
In all, the pursuit took five years from love at first sight to possession of the sandstone courtyard barn. What was once home to livestock, redundant agricultural machinery, sheep-shearing equipment on the walls, hay on the floor, is now a soaring six-bedroom barn conversion open to the rafters with stone floors and oak doors; a vast structure as solid and unyielding as the Wales pack – well, of the 1970s anyway. (No need to mention the 68-14 defeat to England in Cardiff 48 hours after our meeting).
Now his thoughts, when he is not hard at work as chairman of the British & Irish Lions who tour Australia this summer, have turned to the outside space and outdoor cooking.
“My barbecue skills – I use the word skills loosely – would comfortably put me in the enthusiastic, rather than pitmaster, bracket!”
He started a fire by overdoing the marinade on one cook and has also managed to burn a big hole in the garden furniture.
“Room for improvement I am told by my wife, Kathryn.”
With his old barbecue – not quite 19th century – finally discarded, Evans covets a ceramic charcoal grill as a vessel of experimentation and entertainment, throwing barbecues for family and friends, taking advantage of the exceptional local produce on his doorstep.
“I don’t have to cast the net too far from my front door to gather all the great ingredients – meat, fish and vegetables – for a wholesome, nutritious, delicious barbecue, supporting local farmers and producers.”
We discuss a Kamado Joe – and not just because it is red – and he’d also look at a gas BBQ for convenience and quick-fire meals in a busy schedule. A fire pit to gather round for both food and warmth is also on the wish list.
“Maybe there is room for a wood-fired pizza oven too. I need to get designing the space.”
Evans is assuredly an all-time great of Welsh and indeed world rugby, but his roots in rural life gives him an innate understanding of the value of farm-to-fork when it comes to food production, provenance and consumption. And if you put it on fire between farm and fork, so much the better.
Born in Pontarddulais, he grew up on a mixed farm near Swansea, before moving even deeper into west Wales. His childhood was spent out in the fields, no doubt jinking through the trees, imaginary rugby opponents. No wonder his sidestep was
so sharp and he always sought the wide-open spaces.
“My grandfather, Ernest, was a farmer, and my father, John, was a cattle dealer, operating from a smallholding just a few hundred yards from the River Towy, near Carmarthen,” says Evans.
“I have always been deeply embedded in agriculture, with huge respect for farming communities, and so fortunate in being surrounded by glorious countryside with farm produce fit for the gods. With my father dealing in livestock, we always had quality meat available, which, at the time, I probably took for granted.”
One of his best friends in Carmarthen, Malcolm Rees, was a fishmonger and made coracle boats, small and wooden, to fish for salmon and sewin (sea trout).
“I love to cook and eat sewin – wonderful produce with great provenance and traditional fishing handed down the generations.”
Barbecue memories for Evans date back to annual family camping trips to France, be it in the Loire, Provence or Brittany, the meat for the fire sourced from the local butcher.
“Kathryn and I owned a converted barn in the Dordogne for many years. We loved stocking up at the local shops and cooking on our charcoal BBQ. Family barbecues with our children created such warm and wonderful memories. Eating outside elevates both the experience and the food.”
His outstanding rugby career, including three Lions tours to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, has granted Evans some of the world’s finest fare and hospitality, enjoying both rugby cultures and cooking cultures.
Braais outside rugby stadia in South Africa were big enough to feed the hungriest of international rugby players, while there is an asador in every Argentinian playing for Los Pumas. Boots off, BBQ on.
Evans’ memory palate is now drooling, as he recalls his rugby adventures and culinary experiences.
“I have enjoyed magnificent outdoor banquets in France and Italy, both pre- and post-match. But also closer to home at junior clubs for training, matches and festivals – whether as a player or a parent. It is always great to get a BBQ on the go to feed people, bringing local communities together around the fire for fun, food and conversation.”
The Evans’ have three grown-up children, Lili, Cai and Tirion, with son Cai, 25, following in his father’s footsteps, making his Test debut for Wales against South Africa two years ago.
As barbecue becomes more and more popular in the UK, he sees how outdoor cooking can not only socially enrich rugby clubs, senior and junior, the length and breadth of the land, but increase revenues, with more people drawn to the club and staying longer to enjoy the food, friendship and facilities.
He is heading to Australia this summer in his role as chairman of the British & Irish Lions. “The Australians are, of course, rather partial to barbecues and, regardless of the rugby, they would presumably consider themselves clear favourites if it was a three-match BBQ series! I think they’d be surprised by the rising standards of our outdoor cooking, although I might have to go easy on the marinade!”
While thousands of Lions supporters will paint Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the rest of the country red in what is set to be the biggest Lions travelling support ever, rugby clubs and pubs across Britain and Ireland will no doubt be opening their doors early, with the Lions brand and fan base growing rapidly, especially among younger supporters and also with the first-ever women’s Lions tour to New Zealand in 2027.
“What better way to watch the Lions matches than alongside a BBQ brunch at your local rugby club this summer.”
There will be more travelling on his return as Evans treks across the Namibia desert to raise money for the charity Prostate Cymru.
Grainy black and white photographs of cows wandering alfresco round what is now his kitchen, show domestic dreams can come true. Now to turn culinary dreams into reality. Another fire has been lit.
Evans knows where to source the best local produce from a wondrous Welsh larder; he just needs to work on his outdoor cooking game to ensure no more furniture is harmed in the making of a barbecue.
Braais outside rugby stadia in South Africa were big enough to feed the hungriest of international rugby players, while there is an asador in every Argentinian playing for Los Pumas. Boots off, BBQ on.
Evans’ memory palate is now drooling, as he recalls his rugby adventures and culinary experiences.
“I have enjoyed magnificent outdoor banquets in France and Italy, both pre- and post-match. But also closer to home at junior clubs for training, matches and festivals – whether as a player or a parent. It is always great to get a BBQ on the go to feed people, bringing local communities together around the fire for fun, food and conversation.”
The Evans’ have three grown-up children, Lili, Cai and Tirion, with son Cai, 25, following in his father’s footsteps, making his Test debut for Wales against South Africa two years ago.
As barbecue becomes more and more popular in the UK, he sees how outdoor cooking can not only socially enrich rugby clubs, senior and junior, the length and breadth of the land, but increase revenues, with more people drawn to the club and staying longer to enjoy the food, friendship and facilities.
He is heading to Australia this summer in his role as chairman of the British & Irish Lions. “The Australians are, of course, rather partial to barbecues and, regardless of the rugby, they would presumably consider themselves clear favourites if it was a three-match BBQ series! I think they’d be surprised by the rising standards of our outdoor cooking, although I might have to go easy on the marinade!”
While thousands of Lions supporters will paint Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the rest of the country red in what is set to be the biggest Lions travelling support ever, rugby clubs and pubs across Britain and Ireland will no doubt be opening their doors early, with the Lions brand and fan base growing rapidly, especially among younger supporters and also with the first-ever women’s Lions tour to New Zealand in 2027.
“What better way to watch the Lions matches than alongside a BBQ brunch at your local rugby club this summer.”
There will be more travelling on his return as Evans treks across the Namibia desert to raise money for the charity Prostate Cymru.
Grainy black and white photographs of cows wandering alfresco round what is now his kitchen, show domestic dreams can come true. Now to turn culinary dreams into reality. Another fire has been lit.
Evans knows where to source the best local produce from a wondrous Welsh larder; he just needs to work on his outdoor cooking game to ensure no more furniture is harmed in the making of a barbecue.
On behalf of the British & Irish Lions, I headed to Melbourne last Christmas for intel on how Australia was preparing for the tour. The feedback was more food than rugby.
When you go to Melbourne, you go for coffee. Geoff Parling, the Wallabies forwards coach, does not drink coffee. At 6ft 5in tall and a Beard of the Year winner (2013) you would stand out in many a crowd, but to reject a flat white is to be shunned by Victorian society.
However, second-row forwards never say no to breakfast and so it was to the bay-side suburb of Sandringham for poached eggs and avocado on toast – I had a flat white to avoid being shunned by my Melbourne in-laws.
Now Geoff Parling is an Englishman, not Australian, born in Stockton-on-Tees in England’s north-east. The Sandringham café we had breakfast in is called Our Little Ray of Sunshine, a name never knowingly attributed to County Durham eateries.
For the record and to calm the fears of head coach Joe Schmidt and Australia rugby, Parling gave nothing away ahead of the Wallabies hosting the Lions this summer and I have no lineout calls to leak back to Lions chairman Ieuan Evans. We were here to talk BBQ.
But first some rugby context. Parling is a Lion himself and a successful one, playing
in the 2013 Test winning series against Australia. It is an extraordinary 12-year cycle that now sees him plotting the downfall of the 2025 Lions in Australia, and Parling will become the first person to both play for the Lions and coach against them.
Parling played in the English Premiership for Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs, winning three titles along the way – two with Leicester and one with Exeter – as well as 29 caps for England between 2012 and 2015.
He then headed to Japan, before joining Super Rugby team Melbourne Rebels in 2018. After retiring from playing, he became the Rebels forwards coach – and then the Wallabies came calling, first as lineout coach and then forwards coach. What started out as potentially six months down under is now seven years and counting.
Last November, he was back at Twickenham as Australia beat England – a time to visit family, while reflecting on where rugby had taken him. “I obviously have a strong emotional connection to England and to go to Twickenham and back it up with a great win, was a big moment.”
The soft north-east accent is there, and the word ‘mate’ didn’t pepper our conversation, but Parling, his wife and three children, are clearly loving life on the other side of the world. “The outdoor life is how we live over here and that does make you visibly more relaxed and chilled.”
That mindset, says Parling, also sees Australians, in general, move more naturally as athletes, whatever the sport, and that probably stems from running through the sand, or powering through the water, from an early age with the sun on your back.
Second-row forwards (think England head coach Steve Borthwick) are natural students of the game; some might say nerds, crunching data in pursuit of marginal gains.
“Locks normally don’t have the coordination of the back-rowers, so we do need to try and bring a brain game too.
“I really enjoy AFL (Aussie Rules) over here and have learnt a lot from the coaches at Carlton Blues in the Premiership, although my team is actually the Sydney Swans.”
His football – sorry, soccer – team remains Newcastle United, and so there must have been a loud cheer from a Melbourne suburb in March. You suspect Dan Burn could have made a decent second row.
In between lineout drills, it is very much BBQ grills. He cooked the family Christmas meal on his Weber barbecue. While he’ll smash out chicken burgers for the kids, he loves to grill steaks, pork ribs and prawns.
“Back in the UK, Pipers Farm in Devon once ran a butchery course for the Exeter Chiefs. It was great to learn about the food origin and produce plus the different cuts of meat – and eat them!”
While naturally absolutely committed to the defeat of the Lions, Parling is hoping that the tour, one of sport’s greatest tournaments and experiences, will also remind us of the value of rugby in bringing people together.
Professional yes, but fun too, whether that is sharing a beer with the opposition after a match, or players and supporters embracing the different cultures from around the world.
Food is a similar bonding agent, and BBQ does it better than anything else. Should Parling host a players’ barbecue at his home during the tour, he is going to need a bigger grill – a much bigger grill. There’ll be every excuse for a beer because Parling is not going to make you a coffee, but if Lions chairman Ieuan Evans is on the guest list, move your outdoor furniture Geoff.
And with poached egg and avocado consumed, he was off to climb Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest mountain, with his son, Henry. Lions roam in the next mountain range Parling seeks to conquer.