Lloyd Johansson
Lloyd Johansson (born 5 February 1985) is an Australian rugby union player of Tongan and Swedish descent. He plays for the Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship, and his usual position is centre.
Johansson in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth name | Lloyd Johansson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 2 May 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | The Southport School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Lloyd Johansson was born in Melbourne, Australia to Lloyd 'Loiti' Johansson Snr and Maria ' Malia' Johansson. He played under-14 and under-16 rugby for Victoria before moving to Queensland in 2002 to complete his schooling.[1] He was selected for the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team and also represented Australia at Under 19 and 21 levels.
Career
An inside centre, Johannsson is noted for his hard-running and exceptional defence. He played for the Queensland Reds and captained the East Coast Aces in the now defunct Australian Rugby Championship. He made his Wallabies debut in 2005 against the All Blacks.
Johansson had a challenging Super Rugby season in 2007. He did not see any Super 14 action during the 2008 season and was not offered a contract with the Queensland Reds for 2009. He joined Italian club MPS Viadana in an effort to reignite his career, followed by a stint in 2011 with Japanese club Honda Heat.[2]
In 2012 Johansson become the first Victorian player to earn a Super Rugby contract with the Melbourne Rebels.[1][3][4][5] After playing for Melbourne Harlequin in the Dewar Shield in 2013 and 2014,[6] he was named in the Melbourne Rising squad for the National Rugby Championship inaugural season of 2014.[7]
References
- Schlink, Leo (30 October 2011). "Perfect time for Lloyd Johansson to be a Melbourne Rebel". Sunday Herald Sun. News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- "When you're big in Japan!". Rebels Rugby. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- "Johansson - our first Victorian Rebel" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. 13 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- "Former Wallaby Johansson joins Rebels". ABC. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- Rebels Media Unit (21 December 2011). "Player Profile: Lloyd Johansson" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- "Player profile". Melbourne Harlequin Rugby. 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- "Melbourne Rising announce playing squad". Rebels Rugby. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.