Rhona Lloyd: 'Six months ago, I didn’t know if I’d go to the World Cup - Now I have a smile on my face again'
Lloyd has scored three tries in three games at this World Cup
©Lizzy Terry/TEZ.PHOTOG
Scotland winger Rhona Lloyd believes her side have nothing to lose when they take a shot at England in the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
The 28-year-old, who recently signed for Sale Sharks, was a strong performer in the pool stages, scoring three of Scotland’s 14 tries to help them secure a place in the last eight.
Now, she wants her team to keep playing the attacking rugby that has carried them this far.
“They’re [England] are the number one team in the world for a reason and if you look at the world rankings, they’re number one by a fair bit,” Lloyd told TRU.
“So for us, it will be a game where there’s nothing to lose. We’ll go and have a go at them and we’ll keep playing the attacking rugby that we’ve been really proud to play in the last few weeks.
“We scored 11 tries in our first two pool games and another three against Canada so we’re playing a lot of attacking rugby, and I think we’ve been really clinical there and we’ll keep working on that."
Scotland head into the last-eight clash in Bristol as heavy underdogs against the world’s number one side and tournament favourites, but Bryan Easson’s squad are relishing both the occasion and the challenge of facing the Red Roses.
“We are unbelievably proud to have made it to this stage," Lloyd continued.
“I think when you wear a Scotland shirt, it’s always about inspiring the next generation and making things better for them.
“And I think that’s something that I can look back on in my Scotland career and say that’s something that we’ve absolutely done, especially comparing this World Cup to the last World Cup when we didn’t win a game.
“I think the longer that we’re in this competition, the more chances we have to inspire people so I’m really proud that we have another game waiting for us on Sunday and we hope lots of young boys and girls in Scotland will be watching us.”
‘I think we could have been more disciplined versus Canada’
Scotland, ranked sixth in the world, were beaten 40-19 by world number two Canada in their final pool match. Lloyd knows her team will have to tighten up to have any chance of pulling off a seismic upset at Ashton Gate.
“I think we could have been more disciplined versus Canada,” said Lloyd, who is third on Scotland’s all-time women’s try-scoring list with 28.
“Small margins let us down and I think if you want to compete with these teams that are numbers one, two, three and four in the world, then there are bits that you have to control.
“However, I think some of our phase attack and some of our cover defence was really good and we played until the 80th minute and we will need to do that and more versus England.
“Teams like England and Canada, when you let them into your 22, it’s really hard to stop them and I think that’s what we have to reflect upon - how can we stop them getting in there?
“We need to try and control what areas of the park that we play in. We didn’t have loads of opportunities in Canada’s ‘gold zone’. I think we were quite clinical when we were, but I think it’s about finding more ways to play in England’s half.
“I think in that first half especially against Canada when we had that wind against us, we could not get out of our half so we probably need to be a bit more clinical there if we are facing a wind like that on Sunday.
“We are all looking forward to the challenge.”
‘Six months ago, I didn’t know if I’d at this World Cup’
For Lloyd, who has 62 caps since making her debut against England in 2016, simply being at this World Cup is something she does not take for granted.
In February, she opened up on social media about her mental health struggles and admitted she wasn’t sure whether she would make it to this tournament.
At the time, she was playing her club rugby in France with Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais and returned home.
“Six months ago, I didn’t know if I’d be going to this World Cup,” she stated. "I was really struggling with not enjoying rugby and was not enjoying playing.
“It had been a really tough time for me coming off not getting selected for the Olympics [with GB Sevens for Paris 2024], and that was always going to take time to get over.
“And I didn’t really give myself that time last summer. It was very much straight from the Olympics disappointment into WXV 2 with Scotland, then straight into a club season, and it was all a bit much.
“I think that was a big learning curve in terms of trying to slow down at times, so after the Six Nations, I had some time off, came back in for pre-season with Scotland and tried to change my outlook a little bit and kind of just focus on myself and enjoy rugby again.
“I’ve absolutely loved being with Scotland of late. The team around me has been absolutely amazing in terms of getting me back to where I need to be to perform, and I am so excited to be playing for Scotland with a smile on my face again and remembering why I do it.”
The Scotland matchday 23 to face England is due to be named on Friday.
