Corey Evans just refuses to go away. Northland, Maori All black peopleand Blues the midfielder has signed a contract with Crusaders for Super Rugby Pacific for two years starting in 2027.
Despite three previous ACL injuries and an ankle setback in 2026 limiting his Super Rugby campaign to one appearance – the Blues’ 59-34 run away Bosses in Hamilton on May 30 – Evans continues a long tradition Northland players in the south.
Inaugural Crusaders Super Rugby winners and All Blacks Con Barrell, Norm Maxwell and Norm Berryman played for Northland. Recently, Rene Ranger, Rivez Reihana and Heremaia Murray have endured the migration south.
But before he calls Te Kaha/One New Zealand Christchurch’s home stadium, Evans hopes to help inspire Northland to their first NPC final win against the defending champions Canterbury on Labor Day Monday.
Evans did not play in Northland’s stunning 36-12 win over Canterbury on August 20 as they won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1978. However, he has featured in Northland’s last seven consecutive matches and is increasingly confident in his and Northland’s game.
“I’m telling you, she was on her way to get to this point,” Evans said RugbyPass.
“The injury I had this year was a bone I’ve never heard of and I still can’t put a name to it. Am I as fast as I used to be? Probably not, but I just want to contribute, and that’s the great thing about this team. Everyone has a role, they know it and they’re happy to do it.
“I didn’t play the night we won the Shield, but it’s the biggest night of my Northland career. Bringing the Shield home and sharing it with our community all the way to the tip of New Zealand at Cape Reinga are memories we’ll cherish forever.
“We know Canterbury will be a tough game. They’ll adapt to some of the things we’ve done. They’re a class team with experience all over the world. But we’ve got a strong forward pack. If we step up, then the game goes on. If we get into their 22, we’ve got to get points – something we didn’t do when we lost to the Counties Shield (Manuuka).
“The coaching staff has done a great job building the team. Ryan Martin thinks deeply about the game, challenges you to think outside the box and pays attention to detail. Robbie Abel has done a great job running the defense. Everyone has bought into the vision. He cares a lot about the jersey.”
In the final, Evans will compete against Canterbury and Hurricanes Super Rugby winner second-five Jon Rova and former All Black center Dallas McLeod. He will also work in tandem with future Crusaders teammate Rivez Reihan to try and shut down those opposing threats.
“The Crusaders have a lot of players leaving in 2026: Dallas McLeod, David Havili. There were opportunities. After talking to coach Brad Mooar, playing with Rivez was tempting. I know Richie Mo’unga is a back, but Rivez is classy. We have a lot of history together. The more rugby, I said the more rugby I played.”
Waipapakauri is a small settlement in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 on the isthmus of the Aupouri Peninsula. The larger settlement of Awanui lies to the southeast. Waipapakauri is about 12 km north of Kaitaia, the nearest town.
It was at Waipapakauri where Evans’ professional rugby dreams began, coming through repetitions with Heremaia Murray. His ambitions gained momentum on Auckland Grammar School, where in 2018 he captained the first XV and made the New Zealand secondary schools.
Evans was a New Zealand under-20 international from the Grammar TEC club. In 2021, he made his debut for Auckland in a memorable 35-24 win against Canterbury at Eden Park. Harry Plummer scored 20 points; AJ Lam scored three tries.
Auckland were semi-finalists in the 2022 NPC and Evans made a dozen appearances and earned a Super Rugby contract. He played 43 minutes for the Blues in a season difficult due to injuries.
Auckland were frustratingly inconsistent in 2023, going out to Canterbury in the quarter-finals. Evans raised his game under the mentorship of All Black Roger Tuivas-Sheck and All Blacks Sevens veteran Bryce Heem (22 caps). He played nine games and scored tries in wins over Bay of Plenty (32-30), Hawke’s Bay (41-22) and Canterbury (36-29).
But home always beckoned. Since 2024, Evans has played 24 games for Northland.
“There’s something special about playing for your hometown, sharing the journey with guys like Heremaia, who you’ve known since elementary school when he was pretending to be a shooter. He’s a good winger,” laughed Evans.
“When we defended the Ranfurly Shield against Waikato, it wasn’t a Shield challenge for us; it was Sam Nock’s 100th game. Those personal milestones are really important.”
The first NPC final was in 1992. Waikato thrashed Otago 40-5 at Rugby Park in Hamilton, a match forever tainted by the embarrassing eye gouging of Otago and All Blacks fullback Greg Cooper by Waikato prop and All Black Richard Loe.
The home team has won 24 of 34 finals, although Canterbury is the last team to lose a home final in 2022 to Wellington (26-18). Canterbury is 23-2 in all home finals games since 2007.
Northland lost the 2020 championship final 36-24 to Hawke’s Bay. You have to go back to 1997 for their last win in any final. In 1997, Sean Fitzpatrick captained the All Blacks, Jenny Shipley became the first female Prime Minister, and Puff Daddy, the Spice Girls and Elton John ruled the Billboard charts.
That year, Northland also won the Division 2 championship, destroying the short-lived Central Vikings 63-10 in the final in Whangarei. That season Northland won 15 of 16 games and scored more than 100 tries. Centurion fullback Hayden Taylor led the way with 16 tries, while standout flanker Justin Collins scored 12 and late All Black Norm Berryman 10. First five David Holwell scored 204 points. His son, Darcy Holwell, will come off the Northland bench on Monday.