So you are 22 years old. You have always enjoyed watching American football and have received an offer to go to Florida to test your potential to succeed in the big-money NFL. There are no guarantees, but a lot of money is offered if you can crack the code. Do you say “Yes, please”? Or do you say, “No, I’m so sorry, we play Castres in the Challenge Cup on Friday”?
Put yourself in Louis Rees-Zammit’s fast-moving boots and you can quickly understand why, in the darkest January, the ultimate American dream might be appealing: if I’m good enough, honey; If not, at least I tried to do it in the best times of my athletics. As LRZ made clear in his hastily written farewell note, life-changing opportunities like these don’t come along every day.
Relating to: Louis Rees-Zammit quits rugby in shock move to pursue dream of NFL career
On the one hand, good luck to him. On the other hand, he has dashed the hopeful dreams of thousands of Welsh fans. Especially those who cut off their right arms just to represent their country once in a packed Principality Stadium in the Six Nations. So much for the green, green lawns of home and the exciting roar of the pre-game anthems. It’s all about your personal brand these days. bois bech.
It is naive, or hopelessly old-fashioned, to be upset that perhaps the most exciting Welshman of his era should give up so soon on something so special; The call from America reportedly only came last Sunday night, so he didn’t spend any money. We’ve been suffering about this for weeks. Maybe someone, somewhere, could tell him that hasty timing and carelessness didn’t do him much good. If this doesn’t work outside America, universal forgiveness may not be immediate.
Rees-Zammit, on the other hand, has never been one to sit back and wait for things to happen. “Rees‑Lightning” has scored 14 tries in 32 Tests for Wales and his talent is real enough. So is his self-confidence. As he told the Guardian in late 2021, he backs himself against just about everyone else. “The way I look at it is, the bigger the guy in front of me, the less he’s going to move.”
He’ll need all that searing speed and, more simply, more to make an NFL club roster. Christian Wade was arguably quicker off the mark but his ambitions were ultimately dashed. It’s all well and good to aim to be a wide receiver or kick return specialist, but thousands of talented sprinters in America already have an innate edge. The NFL International Player Pathway program awaiting Rees‑Zammit in Florida is just the first of many hurdles, and the odds are stacked against him.
Some would argue that even the sight of him wearing a pair of shoulder pads is good news for the global profile of rugby in a country where the next World Cup will be held in 2031. Others will reiterate that every individual has this right. making the decision that is right for them. Welsh rugby is no longer flush with money or has a stellar team. Rees-Zammit may have looked around and decided that skipping this particular Six Nations Wales campaign might not necessarily be the end of the world.
More than anything, it is a sign of the times, both in rugby and society more broadly. For all the heartfelt praise for the great JPR Williams, rugby no longer has the same magnetic pull in Wales as it once did. It is also a sport that requires enormous commitment for extremely modest pay by American football standards. In commercial terms, rugby is a pimple on the NFL’s big back, and from Gen Z’s perspective, there are sexier sports out there.
So why don’t athletes in their early 20s want to experience life beyond Kingsholm or Cardiff Arms Park? Rees-Zammit’s property developer father Joe is a lifelong American football fan and there’s a big world out there. If he returns to rugby wiser for his experience, there will be no shortage of teams in Britain, France and Japan who will be more than happy to offer a contract to a player who already has an invaluable ability to put the ruckmen on the bench.
But in the short term this does little to help Wales. Or potentially the British and Irish Lions in Australia next year. Because if he returns for the 2025 Six Nations, Rees-Zammit will have to really tear Andy Farrell down to convince him that he deserves a place ahead of the more loyal, unselfish squad players.
If this sounds a little harsh, it’s just a fact of life. Rugby union can sometimes be perceived as a Mickey Mouse sport compared to professional football, but the red jersey that Rees‑Zammit summarily discarded has 143 years of Test match history. He certainly has the right to go to Florida and pursue whatever dream he wants, but it’s also a big gamble. And when Wales’ players line up to sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau A fortnight before Saturday’s game against Scotland in Cardiff, it may be best to avoid wearing badges.