Matchday programme: Bristol Bears vs Newcastle Falcons

BRISTOL BEARS
academy news
30
From a Premiership debut to
an international debut inside
12 months - it’s been a year of
meteoric rise for Academy star,
Ioan Lloyd.
The 19-year-old received his first Wales
call-up earlier this year following a series
of eye-catching displays for the Bears –
and capped a remarkable 12 months with
yet another sensational showing during
the bonus-point win against Harlequins
at The Stoop.
Lloyd made 136 metres with ball in hand,
beating six defenders and making two
offloads in a game that saw him start on
the wing and shift to full back when Max
Malins went off injured on 25 minutes.
He became the youngest Bristol player
ever to be capped by his country when
he came on as a second-half replacement
against Georgia at Parc y Scarlets, before
also featuring in the victory over Italy in
the final round of the Autumn Nations Cup.
In between those two caps, Lloyd
returned to the Bears for their Gallagher
Premiership clash with Worcester
Warriors at Ashton Gate, dazzling with a
man of the match display that saw him
provide a quite superb assist for Piers
O’Conor, land a try-saving tackle in the
corner and kick ten points in a 30-13
bonus-point win.
Lloyd was also on the scoresheet in backto-back
Heineken Champions Cup matches,
touching down late on in the defeat to
Clermont Auvergne and again in a bonuspoint
win in Galway against Connacht.
It means the Welsh youngster has now
scored on his Premiership, Challenge Cup
and Champions Cup debut for the club –
and his Director of Rugby, Pat Lam, says
Lloyd has ‘gone to another level’ since
returning from international duty.
“You can see why we introduced him one
year out of school with Bath here when
he scored in the corner.
“We’ve managed him nicely in the sense
of his development, giving him a bit of
game time.
“All the senior players: Charles Piutau,
Callum Sheedy, Luke Morahan, Semi
(Radradra), all of these boys have
helped him and as he grows it gives him
confidence.
“Then going into an international set-up
was outstanding and then he’s with Alun
Wyn Jones, (Justin) Tipuric and (Leigh)
Halfpenny, learning off them.
“He came back on Wednesday, the
players had a day off, he worked with the
coaches and he knew he’s part of our
group, and he came out and you can just
see he’s gone on to another level, and
he’ll get better and better.”
BRISTOL BEARS VS NEWCASTLE FALCONS | 2020/21