Leon David Lloyd (born 22 September 1977 in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

) is a retired English

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 ...

footballer who played

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

outside centre 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

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

between 1996 and 2007, spending his final 2007/8 season at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Background

Leon Lloyd was born in Coventry in the Midlands where he grew up and attended Coundon Court School. He played for England Schools, England Colts, England U21s, Eng 7s and the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

and was a successful try scorer for the Tigers Youth XV and Development XV. Lloyd made his debut at Leicester in 1996 at the age of 17 and soon after played for

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team ...

before going on to gain his first two caps for England in 2000 against South Africa.

Rugby career

Lloyd made his debut at Leicester Tigers in 1996, displaced ageing England international

Rory Underwood Rory Underwood, (born 19 June 1963) is an English former rugby union player. He is 's record international try scorer, with 49 tries in 85 internationals between 1984 and 1996. Underwood's principal position was wing and he played 236 games fo ...

from the side. That same year Lloyd was part of the squad that won the Madrid Sevens and in the following year was a substitute in the 1997 Heineken Cup Final, which Leicester lost 28–9 to

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglome ...

. Under backs coach

Joel Stransky Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final ...

, Lloyd was shifted inside from the

. Lloyd played for

, England 7s, the

England Colts and England Schools and prior to making his début for the Tigers first team, was a successful try scorer for the Tigers Youth XV and Development XV before a serious car accident sidelined him for six months. Lloyd was included as an injury replacement in

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 ...

's 1999 World Cup squad but didn't feature in any matches. He went on to gain his first two caps the following season as a replacement against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 2000, but concern was raised about his discipline as he was seen punching a Springbok player. He played in the

side during 2001 tour to North America, where he played in three tests and scored two tries. Unfortunately he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery and kept him out of the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

squad for the start of the 2001/02 season and ultimately cost him his place in the England team. However, he recovered well and scored two tries, including the match-winner in Tigers' 2001 Heineken Cup Final, only to be injured again when Leicester retained the trophy in May 2002. That injury also ruled him out of the England Sevens squad for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Lloyd agreed a deal to leave

for Guinness Premiership team

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

.
– BBC News; Gloucester Rugby sign Lloyd from Tigers, 21 May 2007 in 2007 where he scored five tries in just six games. However, his playing career was cut short in 2008 after he suffered a career-ending knee injury during a game against the Ospreys.

Business career

In 2009 Lloyd was appointed foundation director for Oakham School, a private school in the Midlands, where he used his contacts to help raise funds for the school, ensuring its continued success and financial security. Lloyd is a Director of social enterprise Switch the Play, an organisation that supports athlete transition through and beyond sport. His book, Life After Sport 'From Boot Room to Board Room' talks about the rigours of post-sport life and Lloyd's own transition from rugby to business.

References and notes

External links

Testimonial website

Leicester Tigers player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Leon 1977 births Living people Rugby union players from Coventry England international rugby union players English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Gloucester Rugby players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union wings Rugby union centres Black British sportsmen 1999 Rugby World Cup players