Louis Rees-Zammit shocked Welsh rugby a year ago when he dropped the bombshell that he was leaving to try his hand in the NFL.
Now, a year on from being a fan at Tottenham when the Packers played the Giants, the 23-year-old former wing and full back returns to the UK as part of the Jacksonville Jaguars who take on the New England Patriots at Wembley.
And even though he has spent the first six weeks of the season on the Jags’ practice squad trying to earn a place on the match-day line-up, Rees-Zammit is determined to stick it out until he succeeds.
He also reckons that he could open the floodgates, judging by the number of rugby players who have been contacting him about how they go about following in his footsteps.
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“Most definitely,” he said. “I’ve had a load of messages from players asking how the journey has been, how the transition has been.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more rugby players come on the journey that I’ve gone through, whether that’s the international player pathway or the NFL Academy, going into a college in America then going through that process.
“I’ve spoken to a few rugby players who have asked for some advice. I’m trying to be an inspiration for young kids and people that want to play in this league that never got the opportunity. There is definitely a pathway for it. I’m here to try to give as much advice as possible. It wasn’t an option for me growing up, being able to go straight into the NFL.”
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Rees-Zammit has had other rugby stars curiously asking him about his switch to the NFL (
Getty)
Rees-Zammit has never ruled out returning to the rugby field but he says that he is as committed to the NFL right now as he was to rugby when he played for Gloucester, Wales, and the Lions.
“Being a rugby player and wanting to play in the NFL, I knew I had to do a lot in rugby to be able to get the opportunity to do this.
“So when I was playing rugby my full focus was on rugby but in the back of my head I knew that this was a massive dream of mine and one that I wanted to chase. Now I’m on the Jacksonville Jaguars and I’m loving every single moment of it.”
