Scotland winger Rhona Lloyd says she is “feeling in a really good place just now” and that there has been a great buzz in camp this week as Women’s Rugby World Cup preparations get underway.
In February, the 57-capper who has scored 25 tries for her country, bravely took to social media to talk about mental health.
At the time she said: “I’ve come back to Scotland for a couple weeks cause I’ve been having a tough wee time with my mental health for a while and I wanted to get in a better headspace ahead of everything coming up this year with Scotland and Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais.
“I felt like I’d got myself stuck in a negative spiral on and off the pitch and I needed a reset.
“Mental health can be a really taboo subject, but the support I’ve received from club and country has been incredible and made this period and decision so much easier.
“I’ve really gone back and forth about if I wanted to share this on social media but I think it’s important to talk about. It’s okay not to be okay.
“So, this is what life looks like right now – getting back into training in Edinburgh, finding my ‘why’ again and feeling very grateful for my wider team.”
Fast forward four months and the 28-year-old has been part of Scotland’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign, has said her goodbyes to her team mates at Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais after an enjoyable stint there, taken on a Camino de Santiago travel adventure in Europe and been named in the 38-strong national team extended training squad ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Reflecting on her decision to return from France to Scotland back in February, Lloyd said: “It was definitely the right decision for me at the time and I feel a lot better for it now.
“I had a busy time because I was part of the GB Sevens programme and didn’t get selected for the Paris Olympics [in the summer of 2024] then I was back quickly into the September Tests and WXV 2 with Scotland and club rugby over in France as well.
“The decision I made to step back from things in France was very much taken thinking about myself and also thinking how I could best prepare myself for the build up to the World Cup with Scotland.
“It was one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever had to make because I loved Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais, the people there and being part of things in France, but hopefully taking that step back has allowed me to recharge a bit and come August time I want to at my best on and off the rugby field.
“I am feeling in a really good place just now and as a Scotland squad we got back together this week and everyone was smiling, there is a real buzz around.
“I feel like we have a great balance of players who prepared for the last World Cup and newer faces too.”
Lloyd was speaking on Wednesday as Scottish Rugby announced some big news.
Scotland women will play in the main national stadium at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh for the first time in a standalone international in front of spectators next April when England visit during the Six Nations.
The national team, which played its first ever official Test at Raeburn Place back in 1993, has played at Murrayfield twice before.
However, the first one, a 34-3 win in 2002 versus Sweden, was before a men’s clash with Fiji and the second, a 53-0 loss to the English in 2020, was behind closed doors due to poor weather thanks to Storm Ciara.
As a result, this will be the first women’s international game in front of fans on its own which will be played at the 67,144-capacity ground.
Edinburgh Rugby’s Hive Stadium, just a stone’s throw away, has been the home to Scotland women since 2021 and in 2024 they reached a capacity crowd of 7,774 for the first time against England making it the current record attendance for the national team.
A Scottish women’s record football attendance of 18,555 was at Hampden Park in Glasgow to see the women’s national team play Jamaica in 2019 and, after selling over 7,774 tickets, 18,556 will be the next aim for Scottish Rugby with 30,000 hoped for if possible.
“Murrayfield is absolutely Scottish rugby’s home so to get an opportunity to play there is huge,” Lloyd, who fronts a video promoting the move and whose next club is set to be revealed soon, stated.
“We want to elevate the profile of women’s rugby and inspire the next generation – the bigger the crowds are, the more we’re able to do that.
“Inspiring the next generation has always been one of my ‘whys’ in a Scotland jersey and this moment feels really pivotal to that.”
Tickets for Scotland-England at Murrayfield in April 2026 can be purchased here.
Rhona Lloyd is pictured on her recent Camino de Santiago travel adventure
GH Media has covered Scotland women’s journey to this point and will be covering Scotland women’s journey right through to the end of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, bringing insight from within the camp throughout and featuring other parts of the game in this country too – thanks to those already supporting the content, if you or your company would like to get involved please email gary@gh-media.co.uk