GB hero Rhona Lloyd reflects on 'incredible' match-winner in HK

Great Britain needed a hero to stand up during their women’s quarter-final in Hong Kong, and replacement Rhona Lloyd answered the call.

Playing on the treasured turf at Hong Kong Stadium, GB were locked in a titanic battle against the previously undefeated France on Saturday evening.

Both teams threw everything at one another, but the match remained scoreless as the game clock continued to tick ever closer to full-time.

It’s rare, but a nil-all scoreline looked like a real chance – but GB had other plans.

The definition of the term ‘super sub’ can be rewritten as simply ‘Rhona Lloyd.’

Replacement Lloyd was injected into the game in the 13^th minute, and made a stunning match-winning play shortly after.

With their final attack of the contest, GB spread the ball wide left for speedster Lloyd. Getting the ball deep in her own half, the 26-year-old ran about 70 metres to the house.

After a big old battle (and with the scores at 0-0) @RhonaLloyd96 is on hand to book @GBRugbySevens‘ place in their first semi-final this year with a last-minute score 😳

And look at what it means! 🥹@DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment | #HK7s | #HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/xKkatYGo7k

— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) April 1, 2023

Lloyd broke down crying in the in-goal after scoring the match-winning try, while her teammates burst into a frenzy on the sidelines.

Shortly after, GB hoisted their try-scoring hero up on their shoulders – there was plenty to celebrate at the rugby sevens’ spiritual home.

After taking countless selfies with fans at the legendary sevens venue, Lloyd shared her immediate reaction to the match with RugbyPass as she began to make her way down the north-west tunnel.

“I’ve got to deal with Jas (Jasmine) Joyce, she tires them out and I get to do the fun bit and it worked out today,” Lloyd told RugbyPass.

“Incredible. I’ve had the pleasure of playing here before, that was for Scotland for a World Series qualifier, so to be back playing for Great Britain on the World Series is incredible.

“Shona Campbell just gave me the ball and told me to pin the back so it was a bit all-or-nothing but it paid off.”

This weekend’s historic World Series stop in Hong Kong didn’t quite go to plan for Team GB during pool play, but they didn’t let that define them.

After starting their campaign with a hard-fought 5-nil win over Canada, they were beaten 43-nil by World Series leaders New Zealand late on day one.

But Great Britain bounced back with a convincing 35-nil win over Hong Kong China on Saturday, which set up their quarter-final blockbuster.

“I think we did brilliant,” she added.

“To finish on that loss yesterday was really hard, we couldn’t get our kick-off right so we spoke about that last night.

“We recovered, we had a really, really good match this morning against Hong Kong (China), we made mistakes there but learnt from them.

“I think that match we really brought it together and we kept our cool even when it got tight there at the end.”

Their win over France is an important milestone for the team as well, as they prepare to play in their first semi-final of the season on Sunday.

“It’s our first semi-final this season so it means the world to us.

“France, they’re an amazing team so for us to (grind) that out and get the try right at the end there, it’s incredible.

“It’s a small margin, you don’t get many opportunities, France or nor did we.

“But we executed them there and that’s the difference sometimes.”

Great Britain will play Australia in the first semi-final, before New Zealand take on Canada to determine the other finalist.