A man pretending to be Welsh rugby great Gareth Evans has run rings around business leaders in New Zealand's North Island, it was reported on Wednesday.

The impostor, a toolmaker claiming to be the Welsh winger who toured New Zealand with the British Lions in 1977, had enjoyed generous hospitality on the strength of his fake identity, the Rotorua Review reported.

The newspaper said business leaders feted him at civic functions and invited him to corporate boxes at rugby matches believing he was the former international.

The deception was uncovered when the newspaper contacted the real Gareth Evans, who still lives in Britain.

"Your man is clearly an impostor, I would like to get to the bottom of this," he said.

The Review said Rotorua Chamber of Commerce had described the impostor's actions as "unfortunate".

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