Robert "Bobby" Lloyd was born on 1888 in

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community (Wales), community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on th ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of "The Hafodyrynys Wonder", was a Welsh

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

er who represented Wales in both

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

. He played union for Welsh clubs

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

and Monmouthshire County as a scrum half back, gaining selection for

, before moving to England to play league for Halifax, also in the halves, and gaining selection for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

. He died on 18 January 1930 while in Halifax,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Rugby union

Lloyd worked as a miner, and in 1912 was part of the Monmouthshire County team that faced the touring

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

. Lloyd played well and gave the Springbok halves, Freddie Luyt and Uncle Dobbin a difficult match, though the tourists class shone through to win the game comfortably.Billot (1974), pg 76. A scrum-half, Lloyd was first capped for Wales in a winning game against Scotland on 1 February 1913. The game was played at Inverleith and both sides had a sparsity of international experience; though Wales were captained by the veteran

Billy Trew William James Trew, better known as Billy Trew (12 March 1879 – 20 August 1926) was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of t ...

. Lloyd played in the next six consecutive games in the 1913 and 1914

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

s, which saw Wales finish second to England in both tournaments. Lloyd was a favourite at Pontypool and was one of the finest scrum-halves produced by the club. International matches for WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. * 1914 * 1913, 1914 *

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

1913, 1914 * 1913, 1914

Rugby league

Bobby Lloyd went north and in 1914 commenced playing for English

Northern Rugby Football Union Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

club; Halifax. He was selected to go on the

1920 Great Britain Lions tour The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour was the third British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, as well as several local teams. I ...

of Australia and New Zealand. Lloyd won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

while at Halifax in 1920 against Australia. Lloyd won a

for

while at Halifax in 1921. Bobby Lloyd played in Halifax's 0-13 defeat by

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the 1920–21 Challenge Cup Final during the 1920–21 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

, Broughton on Saturday 30 April 1921, in front of a crowd of 25,000.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Bobby 1880s births 1930 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Pontypool RFC players Monmouthshire County RFC players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Powys Rugby league utility players Rugby union players from Crickhowell Rugby union scrum-halves Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh miners Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players