Lloyd Johansson in action for the Melbourne Rising against Sydney Stars.

by Brendan Bradford –

Sometimes – very rarely – a rugby player has a decent excuse for being late for an interview. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting Melbourne Rising centre and former Wallaby Lloyd Johansson to be one of them when I couldn’t reach him on the phone on Tuesday afternoon. How wrong I was.

Now a part-time player training three nights a week with the Rising, the 29-year-old works at the Adidas warehouse and does some residential youth work in Melbourne. That’s why he was a bit late.

“We were kicking the ball around for about an hour or so and they were just being normal kids,” he says.

“It’s a residency for youths – it’s their house – and I’m there to look after them and pretty much be like a big brother. If they’re out somewhere they might call in and I’ll go pick them up but if they’re at home I just chill out with them and we were just playing soccer and basketball for about an hour or so.”

Community work is something the Melbourne born-and-raised Johansson has always wanted to do and it’s offered him a different perspective on rugby and life in general.

Johansson in action for the Melbourne Rebels.

“It’s just helping everyday kids – they’re all between 11 and 18 – and it makes me understand what other people are going through,” he says.

“If I can help in any way to make them feel better about themselves, even if for a second or a minute, or just to have someone to talk to and have fun with, then that’s great for me too.”

After a stellar club season in which his Harlequin side won a second straight Dewar Shield, Johansson is relishing being back on the big stage and hopes the NRC can offer a future in rugby for some of the kids he’s working with.

“Up until the Rebels came along if you wanted to excel in rugby you had to leave Melbourne. Myself and the likes of Ben Tapuai, Christian Lealiifano and Digby Ioane, we’re all Melbourne boys and we had to leave, so I really want to try and help the local youth excel in rugby as well,” he says.

“Hopefully they can stay in Melbourne because most of them are big family men, especially the Islanders, we’re big on family, and a lot of them don’t want to leave but have to because they want to do something they love doing. It’s hard.

“That’s why the NRC and the Rising is a big step and a pathway for local players and it’s good to expose them to the Rebels or one of the other franchises in Australia.”

Johansson doesn’t reckon any of the kids would have a clue he’d played for the Wallabies or scored a try in the first couple of minutes of his Test match debut against the All Blacks, but after stints in Italy and Japan, he hasn’t given up hope of playing overseas again.

Lloyd Johansson.

“I was just playing for Harlequins, just to enjoy it, and I didn’t really have (the NRC) in mind,” says the bullocking centre who was in the East Coast Aces team for the ARC but only played a couple of games because of injury.

“I thought if I got in, it would be cool, but we had a really good season with Harlequin and went back to back. The feeling and camaraderie was really good and I got an email invitation to come down to training and I was really stoked. I trained hard for six weeks and when (Rising coach) Sean Hedger told me I was in the squad I was quite happy.

“But I do want to continue rugby post-NRC, wherever it is, maybe overseas – hopefully somewhere nice.”

As the NRC loomed over the Melbourne club season, Johansson believes the standard of the Dewar Shield rose dramatically this year as players went in search of a shot with the Rising. One of those players, Box Hill’s Sefanaia Naivalu has already been signed to a two year deal with the Rebels after topping the Dewar Shield try-scoring table and impressing in the first month of NRC.

After debuting in Super Rugby for the Reds, Johansson had a couple of seasons overseas before returning in 2012 to become the Melbourne Rebels’ first Victorian-born player. Naivalu, the fleet-footed Fijian back, has gone one step further, to become the first Melbourne club player signed to a Super Rugby contract.

“I’m very happy for him on his two-year deal,” Johansson said of Naivalu.

“He’s a really nice bloke, he’s really quiet but once you get him talking, he’s really funny and I’m happy for him. Hopefully it gives some of the other club players hope that they’ve got a chance.”

Both Johansson and Naivalu will travel to Orange this weekend as the undefeated Rising take on second-placed NSW Country in what promises to be a blockbuster in the bush.

“I’ve never been to Orange, but I’ve heard it’s cold,” Johansson says.

“Someone told me there’s a big Orange there, but I don’t know if they’re pulling my leg.”