Evans sees light in Nations plight

Lion Evans shows Australia a clean pair of heels

Wales legend Ieuan Evans tells BBC Sport Online's Saj Chowdhury that the Six Nations was a success despite the nightmare which befell the competition.

This year's Six Nations competition promised to be the most exciting yet, with England ready to prove that they were unbeatable and the rest, led by Ireland, ready to prove the English wrong.

But halfway through the competition, disaster struck.

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth not only devastated farmers' livelihood but also called a halt to racing's Cheltenham Festival and eventually the northern hemisphere's rugby union showpiece.

There may not be a lot of Welsh players, the bulk of the Lions squad is likely to be made up of England stars

Evans on the Lions squad

But former Wales captain Ieuan Evans, who said that the suspension of the competition until next season was "understandably so", added that there were a lot of positives to be taken from this year's competition.

"I watched nearly all of England's games. They played entertaining, expansive rugby," he said.

"Going into the tournament they were favourites and they produced the brand of rugby to justify that tag."

Evans was one of the greats of international rugby.

Along with Serge Blanco, David Campese, Gareth Edwards, Rory Underwood, to name but a few, he had one thing on his mind - to reach the tryline.

The tryline was something Wales seldom reached in their opener against England, but Evans added that it did not take long for Graham Henry's men to get back into the swing of things.

"Wales started off very poorly against England they caught Clive Woodward's men when they really didn't want to catch them," he said.

"They improved. A draw against Scotland was followed with a win in France. The second half performance there was the best I've seen from a Welsh side for many a year."

Henderson has been part of the Irish revival, says Evans

Above all, Evans believed that it was Ireland who were the stars of the ill-fated tournament.

"Ireland have been very impressive, They have found a set of half-backs that can dictate the game for them," he added.

"Their unit up front with the likes of Keith Wood and Malcolm O'Kelly is impressive. But now they have Brian O'Driscoll, Dennis Hickey and Rob Henderson as well.

"It must have been frustrating for them that they couldn't finish the championship this year."

With regards to the selection procedure for the Lions' Ashes Tour, Evans thinks that coach Henry will brush aside any favouritism for Wales, in order to pick the "best".

"Graham Henry is a pragmatist. He wants to be successful and he will take the best and strongest squad," said Evans.

"There may not be a lot of Welsh players, the bulk of the Lions squad is likely to be made up of England stars."