At the time, Lloyd was still only 18, but what a record rugby crowd at Ashton Gate saw that night was a glimpse of the outstanding talent possessed by the young Welshman. He has since gone on to play for Wales U20 and cement himself in the first-team squad at the Premiership title contenders, but he is making sure his feet stay firmly on the ground.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself and I don’t think about the headlines too much even though they’re really nice to have. At the end of the day, I still have a job to do,” said Lloyd.
“Big headlines for me would be someone saying I should be starting every game. That is obviously my ultimate goal but there is still a long way to go at the moment.
“I know it myself that I haven’t achieved anything yet. Our coach, Pat Lam, is a very down-to-earth guy and he’s a constant reminder that I need to keep my feet on the ground and that I’m in a very privileged position.
“I’m very fortunate and I can’t get ahead of myself. I have to take it day by day and can’t take anything for granted because anything can happen in rugby. You can get injured tomorrow.”
It is only a few seasons ago that Lloyd was playing for the Cardiff Schools U15 side in the Dewar Shield, so he has made massive strides in a very short space of time. He has won U18 and U20 honours since then and looks to be on course to push in the future for recognition from Wayne Pivac.
For the moment, though, this talented Welsh teenager is just relishing the opportunity of playing in a side that boasts so many quality players from all over the world. Some of them he even remembers going to watch play at the Arms Park when he was a pupil at Ysgol Glantaf ahead of his switch to Clifton College.
“I remember watching Charles Piutau playing at the Arms Park against the Blues when he was in the PRO14. There are a few other players I grew up watching who are now my team-mates,” he said.
“I watched Charles and Steven Luatua play for the All Blacks and I also remember seeing John Afoa play when I was growing up. It’s a surreal feeling every day at training and I still have to pinch myself.
“I’m not sure that will ever change. Charles is one of the best players in the world and it’s really rare to meet someone like that.
“It’s a very strange, but amazing, feeling to go into training and speak with him and learn how he does everything. I recently got to train at full-back for the day and he was behind me the whole time talking me through what I should be doing.
“Just getting his appraisal on everything means so much. I’m really enjoying my time at the Bears and it’s a great environment to be in.
“It’s a real family culture, which is quite strange when you think about it because we have players from all around the world. It’s really enjoyable and I’m in a very privileged position to be getting any sort of minutes at the moment.
“I’m happy taking it game by game and trying not to get too ahead of myself. I’ve still got a lot of work to do and, performance wise, I’ve been lucky to be on the end of a few bits of good work from some of the other boys.”
But while there might well be a southern hemisphere influence on his current development, Lloyd insists he is steeped in the tradition of Welsh rugby and took his early lead from two of the best rugby alumni at Glantaf, Jamie Roberts and Rhys Patchell.
Having played for the Cardiff School and Blues South U16 he was due to graduate into the Blues U18 squad, but then got an offer to go on a sporting scholarship to Clifton College. It was simply too good an opportunity to turn down.
“In my mind, I thought that if I was going to go to Clifton I wanted to give it a full shot rather than keep going back and forth. I was lucky my teacher at Clifton, Matt Salter, linked into Bristol so he helped me get involved in the club,” he added.
“It was definitely not an easy decision and I went back and forth in my mind over whether I should stay or leave. Obviously, I’m very happy now with the decision I made.
“I was 16 at the time, so I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself, and there is no way I thought I’d be getting the opportunities I am at the moment. It was an opportunity which came up and I was very lucky to get it.
“Growing up, and going to such a big rugby school with a great rugby culture, I looked at players like Jamie Roberts and Rhys Patchell – they were massive inspirations for me. I was lucky in that in my first game for Bristol this year against Bath I came on at the same time as Jamie.
“It was a double-whammy of getting on the pitch for my first Premiership game, which was nuts, and at the same time I was coming on to face one of my heroes. It was a crazy experience meeting him on the touchline and we had a bit of a chat, although I doubt he knew who I was.”
A year on and everyone now knows who he is. The rave reviews his performances have been receiving have marked him out as one of the rising stars of the Premiership. No wonder that Bristol tied him down with a four year contract last season.
Under Pat Lam’s guidance the Bears are making waves at the top of the table and bidding to reach the play-offs. They also have to face the Dragons in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup, which could prompt a second meeting with that man Roberts.
“The play-offs are definitely our target. We’ve got the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup to look forward to as well and there is a huge buzz around the training centre at the moment,” he said.
“All the boys are buzzing for the opportunities and games coming up, which give us the chance to put ourselves in the best position to make a Premiership semi-final and, hopefully, progress in Europe.
“Obviously, we’d like to win both and everyone is excited about that being our target. Regardless of who is involved everyone in training everyone is trying to help us reach that goal.”
Striking major silverware before he leaves his teens would be a fantastic achievement for Lloyd, but he also wants to go further in the game. Having tasted international rugby at age-grade level he wants to go all the way.
If so, he is going to have to decide in which position he is going to push himself. Equally at home at full back or outside half, he certainly has a preference.
“Playing at No 10 is where I’ve always played and feel the most comfortable. I’m still learning both in that position and in the full-back role,” he added.
“I loved Gavin Henson and James Hook when I was growing up and more recently I’ve looked up to Dan Biggar. They are all outside halves, but I like Liam Williams as well.
“Full back is a completely different position, but I do enjoy playing everywhere and just love getting out on the pitch. Wherever that is for Bristol makes me happy, but outside half is where I feel most comfortable.
“It’s definitely my long-term goal to try to play for Wales, but at the moment it’s a long way off. I’m just focusing on trying to get starts in the Premiership for Bristol and to play more regularly.
“Any opportunity I get to play age grade rugby for Wales I look forward to because it is a massive honour. I’d never take that for granted and I’ll look forward to every chance I get to play for Wales.
“That’s my focus at the moment and for the moment I’m not worried about anything outside of Bristol.”
