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Rhona Lloyd: Whales, Scotland, and Great Britain
Music has played a big part throughout Rhona Lloyd’s Scotland career to date and now, after reaching the 50-cap milestone, she wants her country to keep making positive noises in the world of women’s rugby going forward.
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The Scots marked the winger’s half-century in style by beating Italy 17-10 last Saturday in Parma to put them third in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations table with one round of fixtures to go.
Beat Ireland in Belfast this coming weekend and Scotland could finish third in the standings for the first time since 2005 and secure WXV 1 qualification and a spot at Rugby World Cup 2025.
A lot to focus on in the immediate future for Lloyd and co then, but this week she has taken time out to look back on her journey with Scotland that began as a 19-year-old back in 2016.
And whether it was naming the Scotland Sevens ‘band’ Rhona and the Whales while they were having an impromptu jam session while on tour in Hong Kong, buying a ukulele on that same trip or playing that ukulele in New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup in 2022 while sports scientist Fraser Menzies played the bagpipes as the squad sang Loch Lomond, music has never too far away from things.
Indeed, her teammates serenade her with ‘Rhona, Rhona, Rhona – their version of Ruby by the Kaiser Chiefs – a few days ago at her 50th cap presentation at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi with parents Lea and Robert watching on to keep the music theme going.
“I love rugby and I love music, it’s all a lot of fun,” Lloyd, now 27, said.
“We went to Hong Kong in 2019 as a Scotland Sevens squad to try and qualify for the World Series. There’s a band Noah and the Whale and we were playing chopsticks on our glasses, it was all a joke, but good fun.
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“The next day we walked past a music shop, I got a ukelele and some of the girls got maracas. Then we had to name the ‘band’ and I pushed for Rhona and the Whales.
“I’m not sure if everybody was happy with it, but the name stuck!
“From that day we referred to the sevens squad often as Rhona and the Whales and sometimes had a laugh with music when we were away on trips.
“Then when we [the XVs squad at WXV 2] were in South Africa last year we weren’t flying back until the Monday after the last game.
“A bunch of people were going to get their cap numbers tattooed. It was me and a lot of the younger girls, so our team manager [Ellen Dickson] said to me ‘Rhona make sure nobody comes back with a silly tattoo’.
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“Then we came back and she said ‘Oh it was just you!’ [because she had got a tattoo of a whale on her arm to mark Rhona and the Whales].
“Seriously though, culture to me is really important and that is something that I got from Scotland Sevens.
“We once came ninth in a World Series event for example when we had only met on the Tuesday and then competed from the Friday onwards. That is unheard of, but something that allowed us to do it and push though was our willingness to train hard and work hard for each other because of the bonds we had created.
“Culture has a big crossover with performance, so whether it is music or other things I just want everyone to enjoy being part of the group.
“I have so much fun playing rugby, it is a passion that has become my job, so enjoying the journey is a big thing for me.
“We have a social committee in the current Scotland Six Nations squad. Louise McMillan, Rachel McLachlan, Francesca McGhie and me we do extra things around camp to make sure that everyone is enjoying their team here and that everyone is connecting as teammates and friends off the pitch.
“We want this environment to be an enjoyable one and I think if you asked any player then they’d say that it is.
“That feeling off the pitch has helped us with our recent form on the pitch for sure.”
Lloyd, Scotland cap 192, first got introduced to rugby by international cap 136 Sarah Quick when the latter held a taster session at Tynecastle High School in Edinburgh.
From there, and with the promptings of teacher Bruce Aitchison and coach Eric Jones, Lloyd went on to play for Murrayfield Wanderers and was hooked.
Since then she has played for national age-grade teams, Edinburgh University, Loughborough Lightning, Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais, the national sevens and XVs team and GB Sevens.
She is currently dual-contracted to Scottish Rugby and GB Sevens – she has hopes of making the Paris Olympics in a few months with the latter – and said: “Women’s rugby has moved on so far.
“My first Scotland cap was against England in 2016 [a 32-0 loss] and I got capped the same day as Lisa Thomson. We were so young and we were still playing for the under-20s. At that time the senior squad didn’t have a lot of depth, so you were very quickly put into it.
“The game was at Broadwood [in Cumbernauld], I would guestimate there was a maximum of 300 people there, we were the curtain-raiser for the Scotland under-20 men and I couldn’t tell you if there was a live stream – the way that the game has changed from then to now is absolutely massive.
“It was a huge honour to play for Scotland then and it’s still a huge honour now.
“I just feel so privileged that I’ve played during this period when women’s rugby has changed so much. We’ve seen professionalisation at the international level and for younger girls that are coming through now, it just looks so different for them.
“It does feel like women’s sport is exploding and I feel really lucky to be competing at this time.
“And with Scotland, things are so exciting. We have been happy with the recent wins over Wales and Italy, but our standards for ourselves are so much higher than they used to be and we know we can still play better which says a lot about where the squad is at right now.
“We’re in a very good place and it’s no secret that we want to keep pushing on to see how far we can get Scotland in the world rankings [they are now at a record high of number six].
“We want to be competing on the world stage and we are thinking about that World Cup next year.
“It’s been an incredible journey for me so far and I am excited by the future.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments