LLOYD Lewis might be an out-and-out winger but the prolific Newport RFC speedster is still an example of the importance of versatility.
The 28-year-old from Cwmbran can go from throwing a custard pie into a child’s face on Saturday morning, to running in tries in the afternoon, to performing Welsh rap on stage in the evening.
Wingers are told to be busy and the Wales sevens international doesn’t limit that to coming off his flank to get the ball in his hands when in black and amber.
Lewis is a presenter on S4C, ranging from the mayhem of kid's telly on Stwnsh Sadwrn to a programme with more emotional heft such as Y 'Sgubor Flodau to being a roving reporter when Newport are not the featured team on Clwb Rygbi.
He is a musician with his good friend Dom James, rapping in front of packed crowds at Welsh-language events.
But Gwent rugby fans will know him best for his exploits on the wing having come through the Dragons academy.
Lewis went on to star for Wales Sevens in the World Series while he was a dangerman out wide in the 15-a-side format for Pontypool.
In 2022 he made the switch to Newport and it has been a good match – the winger has a remarkable strike rate thanks to 27 tries in 32 appearances.
“I would say that this is the most that I have enjoyed playing,” said Lewis, who faces Aberavon in Super Rygbi Cymru tonight.
“I had a pretty good time at Pontypool in the Championship but this is my third season at Newport and it’s a great club.
“Newport and Llandovery have almost been the outliers in how we have played the game with expansive rugby.
“That suits me down to the ground and my amount of tries is down to the style of play and also the quality ball-players that we have in the squad.”
Lewis certainly has an eye for the try line and top-end pace that wouldn’t look out of place at professional level but he appears to have the balance right while building a career on camera.
“I haven’t really thought about being pro anymore, and it’s probably too late for me now,” said Lewis, who studied English literature, media and journalism at Cardiff University.
“I love this level of rugby, it’s really competitive and I’ve been lucky enough to have put in some good performances.
“The way that it worked out with the sevens, when there was Covid and then it became Team GB, was probably for the best because this is the most content that I have been.”
Lewis, who went to Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbran and then Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw, will no doubt be chased down for some reaction in S4C’s coverage of Newport RFC’s trip to Aberavon this evening.
A new series of Stwnsh Sadwrn – a show with an appetite for gunge and chaos that gives flashbacks to the 80s – is starting in mid-October and the winger will hope to keep spinning plates successfully.
“It’s fun, I don’t have a ‘day job’ because I am a freelance presenter and just do a bit of everything,” said Lewis.
“I enjoy doing a bit of punditry and presenting with the rugby and then kids TV live on a Saturday is carnage! It’s so funny and great experience for me.
“I have an early night on a Friday, get up at 6am on a Saturday and then there are people getting gunged and anything goes. It definitely wakes you up ready for the rugby and then I pretty much crash as soon as the final whistle goes!
“I don’t find it hard to balance it all and everything I do is fun – rugby, work, music. I’m busy but it’s never a chore and I just feel like I am having fun for a living.”
Newport will hope Lewis, who is yet to score this season, can provide plenty of entertainment on the wing at the Talbot Athletic Ground tonight in the bid for a third win on the spin (kick-off 7.30pm).
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