It’s safe to say Evan Lloyd’s story is pretty unique. Not only did he play for Wales before he had started a game of regional rugby, he also spent two years of his childhood in China.
Hailing from Penarth, he headed out to Shanghai when he was eight.
“My dad works in mechanical engineering and had the opportunity to go out there,” explains the Cardiff hooker.
“It’s a different world. It was crazy, but a really good experience. I feel like I have had the chance to do things other people my age haven’t, through living over there. I learned a bit of mandarin and went to places I could only dream of.”
Having played at flyhalf for his international school in China, Lloyd switched to the back row on his return to Wales.
“I grew quite quickly and, at that age, if you are one of the taller ones you get stuck at No.8 so you can carry the ball.”
Adversity
He progressed from Penarth RFC to the Cardiff Academy and played for Pontypridd in the Welsh Premiership, but then dislocated his shoulder and it looked as though his rugby dream was over at the age of 20.
“I was going to be released by Cardiff. I wasn’t going to get a contract, but then Gruff Rees (academy manager) asked me how I would feel about playing hooker.
“I laughed, I thought he was joking. I had never once thought about it, but he said if I was to make the change I would be in a good bracket, looking at my height and weight. So I thought I would give it a go and it’s turned out ok!”
It certainly has. He made his league debut as a replacement against the Bulls last November and within a couple of months he was named in the Wales Six Nations squad.
“When I saw the email, I think I turned white! It was such a weird moment,” he recalls.
“I don’t think I spoke the whole day. I didn’t know what to think. It was a real mixed bag of emotions.”
Wales Debut
Lloyd went on to make his Wales debut as a replacement against France at the Principality Stadium in March, at which point he still hadn’t started a game for Cardiff.
“The whole opportunity was crazy to me,” he says. “The anthem was just something else, I am getting goosebumps thinking about it now!
“You watch it when you are a kid and there I was on the other side of it. I couldn’t stop looking around.
“I was so happy to be out there. I just wanted to soak everything in. I didn’t want to waste it. The whole warm-up, I was buzzing and, when I went on, it was a crazy feeling.”
Now he has five caps to his name, having also figured against Italy, South Africa and Australia, and is once again part of the squad for the autumn Tests.
“It has been a whirlwind, just one thing after another. It’s been a strange journey,” says the 22-year-old.
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