Rhona Lloyd eyes Inaugural Women’s Lions Tour in 2027

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Rhona Lloyd is eagerly anticipating the inaugural Women’s British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2027, a historic moment for women’s rugby.   The Scotland winger has already made her mark internationally, with over 60 caps and more than 25 tries to her name, but the prospect of representing the Lions offers a unique challenge and an unprecedented stage to showcase her talent.   For Lloyd, the opportunity to line up alongside the best players from across England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales against the formidable Black Ferns is both exciting and humbling.

Transcript

00:00Rona Lloyd is eagerly anticipating the inaugural Women's British and Irish Lions Tour to New

00:07Zealand in 2027. A historic moment for women's rugby as the Scottish winger has already made

00:13her mark internationally with over 60 caps and more than 25 tries to her name. But the

00:19prospects of representing the Lions offers a unique challenge and an unprecedented stage

00:25to showcase her talent. So Rona, let's start with the World Cup and the incredible impact

00:32that it had. I mean, what did the tournament show you about how far women's rugby has come

00:38in terms of quality and public support, that viewing that it got and really sort of fulfilled

00:43the major tournament that it wanted to be? Yeah, absolutely. I think England does women's

00:49sport really well, which I think put a little bit of expectation on this World Cup. We've

00:52been saying for months that it's going to be the biggest one ever. But I think it really

00:56even exceeded all of those expectations. The tournament was absolutely fantastic to finish

01:00it with 82,000 at a sold-out Twickenham. The last World Cup, there was 40,000 at the final.

01:05The one before that was 20,000. So the growth in women's rugby has really been astronomical.

01:10And in all the whole cities, I think people really got behind women's rugby. They got behind

01:14the Red Roses, but they also just got behind the game. There wasn't a quiet stand throughout

01:19the whole tournament. It was so inspiring to be part of and hopefully for anybody that was there

01:23as a spectator as well.

01:27For Lloyd, the opportunity to line up alongside the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland

01:32and Wales against the formidable Black Ferns is both exciting and humbling. Lloyd has spoken about

01:39how the tour represents more than just rugby. It's a chance to be part of a legacy that will

01:45inspire the next generation of female players. The intensity and prestige of playing in the

01:51Lions jersey carry a responsibility as well as an honour. And she is relishing the thought

01:57of contributing to the team, both on and off the pitch.

02:03And obviously the women's Lions tour, I mean, that just sort of shows how the game has grown

02:09to have that first tour. What's that going to be like for you in terms of the countdowns on?

02:14You want to make sure you're in the mix. I mean, that's so exciting to have that sort

02:18of target on the horizon.

02:20Yeah, it's massively exciting for everybody playing the game. I think before we had the

02:23World Cup every four years as these landmark events in women's rugby and opportunities

02:27to grow the game, whereas actually now that we're going to have the British and Irish

02:31Lions women's tours every two years in between that is going to be incredible in terms of

02:37the eyes that we can get on women's rugby. Royal London's investment from the grassroots

02:41game right up to the British and Irish Lions is just going to make an incredible tour to

02:46remember. And I think as women's rugby is growing, we need to keep investing in the

02:49game from the grassroots and all the way through to the elite level. There's more and more

02:53girls playing. So we need to make sure that the facilities are there to make that possible.

02:57The tour is expected to have a transformative impact on women's rugby, raising its profile

03:03globally and giving players like Lloyd a platform that has traditionally been reserved

03:07for men. She views it as an opportunity to push her own game further while helping to demonstrate

03:15the growing competition and skill in the women's game.

03:20Yeah, I mean, as you say there, England do women's sport incredibly well. You obviously

03:24have the women's football Euros as well, that going on. And then, you know, you have the

03:28Olympic Games where you get so many women role models. I mean, women's sport has changed so much

03:32over the last sort of, you know, 15, 16, 17 years or so. You know, that must be incredible

03:39for you to be in this era where you are appreciated and you are looked up to as a woman in sport.

03:44You know, how important is it that those guys who came before you have sort of laid that groundwork,

03:49the women before you and maybe didn't get the support and credit that they possibly deserved?

03:55Yeah, I think that's, when I play, that's a big why of, I guess, the people I want to make proud.

04:03It's the players that have come before me in a Scotland jersey, but also in any jersey for

04:08any country at women's rugby, because it's taken a long time to get to where we are today. I think

04:13about that being every Six Nations match and that when the Red Roses played Twickenham, that's the

04:17crowd that we see. So yeah, I think I can't do enough justice to the people that have made this

04:23possible who have been playing since the first World Cup in 1990.

04:28For Lloyd, the Lions tour is a pinnacle of her ambition so far, a chance to test herself against

04:33one of the toughest teams in the world, while helping to inspire girls and young women

04:39to see rugby as a sport where they too can achieve greatness.

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