1 month ago
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She may be one of the most exciting players in Scottish women’s rugby, but winger Rhona Lloyd says she considered her own future in the game after failing to get selected for last summer’s Olympics.
The Scotland stalwart — who heads to the Women’s Rugby World Cup later this month — was once billed a ‘try-scoring sensation’ by former England captain Sarah Hunter and has regularly represented Team GB in the game of sevens.
She admitted, however, that she’d had a ‘really tough 12 months’ following the Games in Paris, and was ‘really struggling’ with her enjoyment of playing.
‘Six months ago, I didn’t know if I’d be going to this World Cup,’ revealed Lloyd. ‘I was really struggling with not enjoying rugby, not enjoying playing.
‘It had been a really tough 12 months coming off not getting selected for the Olympics. That was always going to take time and I didn’t really give myself that time last summer — it was very much Olympics, straight into WXV, straight into a season and I think that was a big learning curve. Luckily, things are falling into place at the right time.’
Solace, she says, was sought in one of the most inspiring places on earth — the Camino de Santiago in Spain — which for years has seen scores of pilgrims tread its paths for religious or spiritual reasons, personal growth or, indeed, inner inspiration.
Lloyd is excited about the upcoming World Cup in England after overcoming off-field struggles
Lloyd, Bonar, Thomson, Wassell, Malcolm and Nelson are among the Scots' experienced heads
Winger Lloyd and skipper Malcolm feel the chill during the squad's St Andrews photo call
‘I think I took a big step back over summer and, (in) our month off, I did the Camino de Santiago,’ she explained.
‘I really got out of the rugby bubble and I think that gave me a lot of perspective about that decision, that this is what I want to do and making that decision myself to get back into it.
‘Taking a step back, talking to psychologists — that’s definitely got me back to where I am now.’
Lloyd, who has signed for Sale Sharks next season, says she’s now ‘buzzing’ with excitement for the upcoming World Cup and using her sevens’ experience when it comes to performing under pressure.
‘I think Sevens has been huge for performing under pressure on the World Series,’ she said.
‘Sevens is massive for skill development at times where, for example, if you miss your tackle, there’s nobody covering it.
'There’s a lot of pressure on you as an individual. I think to get exposed to that has been massive in terms of development as a 15s player.’
The winger, who is now an Ambassador for the Rugby World Cup’s ‘Strong Bodies, Strong Minds’ campaign, is a huge believer in body positivity and female empowerment and is not afraid to use her voice to advocate for change. Particularly when it comes to supporting her team-mates.
Scotland will open their World Cup campaign against Wales before taking on Fiji and Canada
Concern over fellow players’ contracts is a case in point. With several players left in the dark as to whether they would have their deal renewed post-World Cup, Lloyd admitted this was hardly the best way to prepare for the biggest tournament of their lives.
‘Personally, I do have a contract for Scotland next season,’ she revealed. ‘But aside from my personal circumstance, I’m not happy that the squad aren’t all in that place.
‘There’s a lot of the squad that are going into this World Cup, more than half, that are not coming out of it with contracts.
'And I think that’s a lot of pressure to put on a player to perform under, not knowing if you’ve got a job in the following months.
‘If you look at the best teams in the world, a lot of their contracts are running until next June, which takes the disruption out of the World Cup year.
'So, yes, I think it obviously has been very disruptive for this to happen during our World Cup pre-season, which is the biggest tournament of our lives.’
