Ieuan was educated at Queen Elizabeth School in Carmarthen where he started playing rugby at the age of ten. He played for the Carmarthen Quins youth side at 17 and joined Llanelli at the age of 19, where he achieved phenomenal success at both club and international level. Ieuan played seven cup finals for Llanelli, who won five of these. During the 1980's, Ieuan played in the last matches of the traditional 'rag doll' games, the fiercely fought matches between Bath and Llanelli.
At international level, he holds almost every record in Welsh rugby - a record breaking 72 caps for Wales, playing 28 games as captain and the most tries in a game, with four. He has scored 33 tries for his country (this tally only being topped by David Campese (Aus), Rory Underwood (Eng), Serge Blanco (Fr) and John Kirwan (NZ). He has played in all three world cups.
Ieuan has made seven appearances for the British Lions and is a member of the elite band of Triple Lions Tourists, touring in Australia 1989, New Zealand 1993 and South Africa 1997, where a groin injury ended his trip prematurely.
As the right wing for Llanelli, British Lions, and Wales his career reached a pinnacle in 1993, when he was named as both Rugby World and Wales Player of the Year.
Ieuan Evans declared his retirement from international rugby in 1998 but he has since established himself as a well respected sports journalist and TV pundit and is a popular after dinner speaker.