Ioan Lloyd (born 5 April 2001) is a Welsh professional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
player who plays as a
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
for
United Rugby Championship
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...
club
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
and the
Wales national team.
Club career
Early years
Lloyd won the 2015 Dewar Shield with Cardiff Schools before joining
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff ...
. He then moved to England, joining
Clifton College
''The spirit nourishes within''
, established = 160 years ago
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school
, religion = Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head of College
, hea ...
and was quickly snapped up by
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
.
Bristol
He made his first professional appearance playing for
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
against
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
in the first game of the 2019-2020
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
season and scored two tries in his first two performances.
Lloyd was named man of the match on his competitive debut at fly half, scoring 22 points in a 59–21 win against
Zebre Parma in the
2019–20 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
In 2021, Lloyd was named as the Discovery of the Season after a breakout year for Bristol, moving from a bench player to a starter for the first team.
Known for his versatility, Lloyd has started matches at fly half, centre, wing, and fullback, and has covered scrum half during an injury crisis.
Ahead of the
2022–23 Premiership Rugby season, Bristol coach
Pat Lam indicated that Lloyd’s long term focus would be at inside centre.
On 18 April 2023, it was announced that Lloyd would be joining the
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
for the 2023–24 season.
Scarlets
Lloyd made his first Scarlets appearance in a preseason friendly against the
Barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...
along with fellow new signing
Taine Plumtree
Taine Plumtree (born 9 March 2000) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for the Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship. Plumtree began his career with Wellington in the NPC, and played for the Blues in Super Rug ...
. The pair made their competitive debuts for the Scarlets together against the
Bulls
Bulls may refer to:
*The plural of bull, an adult male bovine
*Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District
Sports
* Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding
*Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...
on their South African tour.
International career
Wales U18 and U20
Lloyd played for
Wales U18 at the 2019 Six Nations Festival.
Lloyd progressed to the
Wales U20 squad for the
2020 Six Nations U20 Championship, starting two matches at fullback.
Wales
On 6 October 2020 he was named in the senior
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
squad for the 2020
Autumn Nations Cup
The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of ...
. He made his debut for Wales on the 18 November 2020 as a second half replacement the 18-0 win against Georgia. Prior to his international debut, Lloyd had only made four starts for Bristol.
Lloyd earned his second cap the next week, coming off the bench against Italy.
Lloyd was selected in the Welsh squad for the
2021 July rugby union tests The 2021 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were a series of international rugby union matches that are typically played in the Southern Hemisphere during the July international ...
, but did not feature in any of the match day squads.
Lloyd earned a recall to the Wales squad for the
2024 Six Nations Championship
The 2024 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby union competition that took place in February and March 2024, and featured the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, I ...
.
Personal life
Lloyd’s younger brother Jac is also a fly half, and has followed in his footsteps: both having played for
Wales U20. Jac has also played for Clifton College, and is part of the Bristol Bears academy, like Ioan before him.
References
External links
*
Ioan Lloydat
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, ove ...
Bristol profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Ioan
Living people
2001 births
Welsh rugby union players
Wales international rugby union players
Rugby union players from Cardiff
Rugby union fly-halves
Rugby union centres
Rugby union wings
Rugby union fullbacks
Bristol Bears players
Scarlets players