Wales international's younger brother 'on fire' as he takes jersey off club legend
Wales international's younger brother 'on fire' as he takes jersey off club legend
The 22-year-old helped his club to title glory in what was described as a 'changing of the guard'
Lloyd is 'on fire' after making the No. 10 jersey his own
(Image: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency )
Newport RFC have been crowned the best team in Wales outside of the professional game after beating Ebbw Vale 27-18 in the first-ever Super Rygbi Cymru final, with young fly-half Jac Lloyd helping them to victory with a player of the match performance.
The Black & Ambers ended their 150th anniversary season on a high at Eugene Cross Park as they defeated the Steelmen on Sunday afternoon to become the inaugural winners of the new league and take the second-tier title for the first time since 2004.
Tries from Dafydd Buckland, Lloyd and Carwyn Penny helped Newport to victory, with the outside-half putting the outcome beyond all doubt from the tee as he was named the official player of the match.
The 22-year-old - who is the younger brother of Wales international and Cardiff-bound Scarlets star Ioan Lloyd - has quickly become a key player for Ty Morris' side after breaking into the team earlier this season.
Lloyd, who can also play at full-back, came through the Bristol Bears' academy and played for Sydney University in the Shute Shield before moving to Newport in 2023.
He made 16 appearances in his first season with the club as they finished runners-up in the Welsh Premiership, with seven of those coming as starting fly-half.
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However, with club legend and long-time star playmaker Matt O'Brien taking on further responsibilities as part of the Dragons' senior coaching staff, it has fallen to someone else to pull the strings for the Black & Ambers, with former Wales U20s star Lloyd stepping up to fill the role.
Having made the jersey his own, the youngster looks set to be the main man at No.10 for Morris' team, with O'Brien himself giving his seal of approval after Sunday's victory over Ebbw Vale.
While he confirmed that he is planning on staying at the club for "a couple more seasons", the 32-year-old admitted that he currently doesn't expect to get back into the team ahead of the "on fire" Lloyd.
Dedicating the title win to club legend and 'Mr Newport' Brian Jones, who died last month, O'Brien told S4C: "It feels brilliant, the supporters they deserve it more than anyone.
"A lot of hard work has gone into it over the last four or five years and we got the reward today. I think the better side won."
The fly-half was named Player of the Match as Newport defeated Ebbw Vale in the Super Rygbi Cymru final
(Image: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency )
Quizzed on his future, he added: "I'm potentially still going to have a couple more seasons but I'll be playing a lot less with everything going on.
"But I think you saw today, the changing of the guard has probably happened already, to be honest. Jac Lloyd, I don't think I'll ever get the shirt back off him, he's on fire
"I'm chuffed for him, I'm chuffed for the club and with the 150th anniversary, I think it's a great way to finish, obviously with the passing of BJ a few weeks ago as well as we all know, so I'm really pleased. "
Lloyd's standout performance against Ebbw Vale comes after head coach Morris hailed him as "one of the best all-rounders in the league" after rising to the challenge of filling O'Brien's boots at fly-half.
'We were aware at the beginning of last season about Matt's commitments to the Dragons and where his future lied regarding coaching,' the coach told the South Wales Argus. 'We had to accept that Matt was not going to be available as much but the way things worked out meant he still played around 70 per cent of games last year.
'We thought that we would be making the transition but Jac probably didn't get as much game time as he wanted last season, but he has this time. He has really grown into the role, especially post-Christmas when Matt has been unavailable or injured.
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'Jac has had time in the saddle, has grabbed that 10 jersey and, in my opinion, is one of the best all-rounders in the league," Morris added. "[He] has been able to have the time to make errors whereas previously he would have two or three games and then Matt would have two or three games.
'He is growing in terms of his performances but also with his confidence around the group, being a leader, talking a lot and controlling games.'
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