Former rugby star Ricky Evans has spoken about how life has been transformed by his conversion to Buddhism.
Evans, who won 19 caps for Wales, says the inner peace he has found by adopting the Eastern spiritual tradition means as much to him as representing his country.
“I cannot speak for everybody. But it has something that has worked for me and something I value as much as my Welsh caps,” he said.
Now working as a firefighter at Aberporth in Ceredigion, the 43-year-old ex-Llanelli prop meditates at 5am every day and admits it is very different to the hard man image he needed on the field.
“It’s a complete contrast to the life I used to lead,” he told BBC Radio Wales.
“But I don’t believe I have changed that much myself – it’s just I have taken on these values.”…