Decision to return to rugby lifted ‘a weight off my shoulders’ - Rees-Zammit

LOUIS Rees-Zammit has opened up about calling time on his dream of making it in the NFL, admitting that coming back to rugby was “a weight off the shoulders” as he looks to hit former heights for Bristol Bears and Wales.

- LOUIS Rees-Zammit

Louis Rees-Zammit

The former Gloucester wing sensationally quit rugby on the eve of the 2024 Six Nations to pursue a new career in American football, flying to the United States and joining the NEL’ international player pathway programme in a bid to fulfill his childhood dream.

After impressing on the programme, he signed a deal with then-reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs, before landing a place on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.

While he was praised by coaches, he failed to break into the active roster and, in July, announced that he was returning to rugby after 18 months away, having only played three preseason games for the Chiefs.

Since returning to the sport where he made his name, Rees-Zammit has made an impressive start to his second stint in rugby, showing flashes of his former self and scoring six tries in nine matches for new club Bristol, as well as two for Wales during the autumn internationals.