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Louis Rees-Zammit

Louis Rees-Zammit (/ˈluːɪs/ LOO-iss; born 2 February 2001) is a Welsh athlete who plays as a professional American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played professional rugby union. From 2018 Rees-Zammit played in the position of winger for the Gloucester Rugby club in the English Premiership, and also at international level for Wales between 2020 and 2023 and the British & Irish Lions in 2021. Then, in January 2024, Rees-Zammit declared his intention to swap rugby for American football and leave the United Kingdom to move abroad to the United States, in order to play in the NFL. Since then, he signed to the Jacksonville, Florida sports franchise.

Louis Rees-Zammit
Rees-Zammit in 2023
Born (2001-02-02) 2 February 2001 (age 23)
Penarth, Wales, U.K.
American football career
No. 84 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:The Cathedral School, Llandaff
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Practice squad/international
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing, Full-back
Youth career
Cardiff Blues
Hartpury College
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018–2024 Gloucester 77 (210)
Correct as of 16 January 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019 Wales U18 5 (20)
2020–2023 Wales 32 (70)
2021 British & Irish Lions 4 (15)
Correct as of 16 January 2024

In March 2024, Rees-Zammit trained and competed in the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. After completing the program, he was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs in the position of running back and trained as a kickoff specialist. However, he did not make the final 53-player team roster for the 2024 NFL season. He subsequently signed to the Florida based Jacksonville Jaguars as a part of their practice squad in a new position of wide receiver.

Early and personal life

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Rees-Zammit was born in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales,[1] and his paternal grandfather emigrated from Malta. Louis comes from a sporting family. His parents were athletes and his brother played rugby union for Llandaff RFC, also his uncle Paul Rees is also a former player who was full-back for Cardiff RFC, Pontypool RFC and the Wales B team. Then, Louis' Dad, Joe played American football in Wales for the Cardiff Bay Tigers and had inspired Louis to follow the NFL from a young age.[2][3] His Dad and the family supported the Washington Commanders (the then Redskins), and Louis' favorite NFL player growing up was DeSean Jackson.[4][5][6] For high school, Rees-Zammit attended The Cathedral School, Llandaff, and played rugby for the school.[7] After secondary school, he had dated social media influencer and YouTuber Saffron Barker,[8] but during March 2024, Barker announced that the relationship had ended.[9]

Due to Rees-Zammit's success on the rugby field, in 2021, he was chosen as the official patron for the British charity Sporting Minds UK, with whom he worked since 2019. He also did sponsorship work for the telecommunications giant Vodafone during the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.[10]

Youth rugby

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In his youth, he played rugby at the Cardiff Blues academy and was named in the Cardiff Schools Team of the Decade for the 2020s. He was also a regular in the Wales under-18s youth team, and he qualified for England due to residency. In 2017, he transferred to Hartpury College, the academy of Gloucester Rugby in the AASE Championship, winning back to back trophies. Then, from college, he played for Gloucester United in 2019 before his promotion to the Gloucester professional team. As part of the Gloucester youth team he was in two consecutive Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League finals.[11][12]

Rugby union career

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Gloucester club career

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Rees-Zammit broke into the Gloucester senior team in the 2019–20 season, becoming the club's youngest ever English Rugby Premiership player at 18 years and 70 days.[13] He also became Gloucester's youngest European player,[14] and youngest European try scorer in the Champions Cup Pool stage in the 2019/20 season.[15] He went on to score two tries against Worcester Warriors during a 36–3 win in December 2019, and later the same month became the youngest player at 18 years old to score a hat-trick of tries in the Premiership during a 33–26 loss to Northampton. His performances won him the Premiership Player of the Month Award in December 2019.[16][17] On 13 January 2020, Rees-Zammit signed his first professional contract with Gloucester, securing him to the club on a long-term deal.[18] He ended his debut season, the 2019–20 Premiership with 15 appearances for the side and was awarded Gloucester's young player of the year for 2019-20, scoring 10 Premiership tries and 3 Heineken Champions Cup in the pool stage.[19][20]

With continued form for the English rugby club, he was selected by British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland to feature in their 2021 South African tour, he then scored 2 tries against Premiership rivals Northampton Saints in the game following the call up in May of that year. Although Gloucester ended the year second from bottom in the table at the end of the 2020–21 Premiership Rugby season.[21][22]

In the 2021–22 Premiership, he made his first appearance of the season scoring two tries in the Round 4 victory over Sale. Gloucester managed to make it to the quarter finals of the 2022 European Challenge Cup, with Rees-Zammit scoring a try during the loss to fellow English side Saracens F.C.,[21][23][24] and also the semi finals of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup, losing to the Worcester.[25]

During the 2022-23 Premiership Rugby season he picked up an ankle injury keeping him on the sidelines for 8 weeks until mid February 2023, scoring a try on his return against Harlequins RFC.[26] At the end of his final full season playing rugby at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester, Rees-Zammit had played 13 league games, starting 12 and scoring four tries in 956 minutes, and also featuring in 1 full game of the European Rugby Champions Cup scoring 1 try.[27]

By the time he decided to leave the club in January 2024, he had made 77 club appearances scoring 210 points. He was in the last season of his £225,000 ($285,000) a year contract, and it was due to be renewed by Gloucester. Also, Rees-Zammit had attracted interest from the French Top 14 rugby union league, with Bordeaux and Montpellier offering him big money contracts to leave England and play in France, like other British international players.[5][28][27]

Wales international career

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Rees-Zammit initially represented Wales under-18s.[11] He received his first call-up to the senior Wales squad, under coach Wayne Pivac, on 15 January 2020 for the 2020 Six Nations Championship.[29] He made his debut for Wales, from the bench, in a test match against France held at Stade de France in Paris, France, in October 2020.[30][31] Rees-Zammit scored his maiden test try against Georgia on 21 November 2020.[32]

He scored his first 2021 Six Nations Championship try, on his European Six Nations debut, in the Round 1 match against Ireland on 7 February 2021.[33] On 13 February 2021, in the Six Nations match against Scotland, he scored two tries, including the winning try, and was named as man of the match.[34][a] Wales went on to win the 2021 championship the next weekend giving Rees-Zammit his first Six Nations Championship. He also won the try of the Championship award.[36] At the end of the 2021 rugby season, Rees-Zammit was nominated for the World Rugby Men's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, losing out to the New Zealand All Black player Will Jordan.[37][38]

After a few successful seasons for his club and country, Rees-Zammit would go on to have a more injury prone few years between 2022-2023. He featured in three of the five of Wales' matches for the 2022 Six Nations Championship, having been dropped for the clash against England. Yet, his success on the field for Gloucester meant he was a part of Wales' losing 2022 summer tour of South Africa. Again, Rees-Zammit went on to miss two of the five games Wales played in the 2023 Six Nations Championship. He went on to be selected for Wales' squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup competition in France, scoring 5 tries in five appearances, but he only started 2 of those matches for Wales.[39] In total, he scored 14 tries at international level for Wales.[40][21]

As part of the Wales first team, he appeared in season 1 of the Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact for the 2023 Six Nations Championship.[41]

Wales international tries

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Try Opponent Location Venue Competition Date Result
1   Georgia Llanelli, Wales Parc y Scarlets Autumn Nations Cup 21 November 2020 Win
2   Ireland Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2021 Six Nations 7 February 2021 Win
3   Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2021 Six Nations 13 February 2021 Win
4
5   Italy Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2021 Six Nations 13 March 2021 Win
6   Fiji Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2021 Autumn Internationals 14 November 2021 Win
7   South Africa Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Stadium 2022 Tour of South Africa 2 July 2022 Loss
8
9   England Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2023 Six Nations 25 February 2023 Loss
10   Fiji Bordeaux, France Stade de Bordeaux 2023 Rugby World Cup 10 September 2023 Win
11   Portugal Nice, France Stade de Nice 2023 Rugby World Cup 16 September 2023 Win
12   Georgia Nantes, France Stade de la Beaujoire 2023 Rugby World Cup 7 October 2023 Win
13
14

British & Irish Lions 2021

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See also: 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa

On 6 May 2021, Rees-Zammit was named in the squad for the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.[42] His inclusion made him the youngest Lion selected since the 1959 Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand at the age of 20 years and 93 days.[6][43] Rees-Zammit made his first Lions appearance in the tour's opening provincial game against the Lions, scoring the opening try after 3 minutes.[44] He was then selected to play against the Sharks in the following game, again getting in the scoresheet as the Lions ran out 54–7 winners.[45] For the Lions team game against South Africa A rugby team, he was selected as a starter in an upset victory for the host's second team.[46] And for the final provincial game, he scored as a replacement on 17 July 2021, against the Stormers. His final tally for the tour was three tries in four appearances.[47][48]

American football career

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See also: List of players who have converted from one football code to another

On 16 January 2024, Rees-Zammit announced that he would retire from rugby union to train in American football through the National Football League's International Player Pathway Program. His training camp took place in the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and the actual 'Pro Day' took place on March 20th. Rees-Zammit has compared his playing style to that of NFL players Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers.[6][49]

Draft statistics

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m) 		209 lb
(95 kg) 		4.43 s 29.0 in
(0.74 m)		 9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)
All values from NFL IPPP Pro Day[50][51][52]

Speed comparisons

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Prior to Rees-Zammit making his professional NFL debut, he was already being considered one of the league's fastest athletes alongside players such as John Ross and Chris Johnson. His top speed was 24.2 mph during a rugby game, which is fast enough to put him into the ranking of all time fastest players in NFL history.[6][53][54]

At the IPPP Pro day event, it was noted that since 2013, some 14 players have run a sub-4.30 second 40-yard-dash. Rees-Zammit's secured times of 4.50 and 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash. The NFL writer Robert Maadi (AP News) who was covering the trials wrote about Rees-Zammit's disappointment with his dash times, saying he was capable of going faster into the 4.2s, which is the NFL record pace.[52][55][56]

Debut NFL season

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On 29 March 2024, Rees-Zammit signed a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to play running back,[57] and he made his NFL preseason debut on 11 August 2024 for the Chiefs in a 26–13 preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars running six times gaining 22 yards, and catching one pass for 3 yards.[4][58] He went on to make three pre-season appearances for the Chiefs in the summer of 2024.[14]

During preseason on August 26, the Chiefs re-signed JuJu Smith-Schuster after his stint for the New England Patriots, who took Rees-Zammit's assigned number #9 shirt. Following this, Rees-Zammit switched to the number #49 shirt, the same number as the punter Matt Araiza, until the final cut was made.[59][60]

On 28 August 2024, Rees-Zammit became a free agent after failing to make the Chiefs' initial 53-man roster during the final preseason roster cuts. Later that day, he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad, taking jersey #84.[61][62] After changing teams, Rees-Zammit also changed positions from a running back for the Chiefs to training as a wide receiver for the Jaguars, a position he prefers due to his size and strength.[4] As part of the squad, he traveled to the UK for the London NFL series in October 2024. On the journey, he had an interview with the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, and also met William, Prince of Wales.[63][64]

Notes

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  1. ^ On 21 March, in the Round 5 Grand Slam decider, against France, Rees-Zammit had a try disallowed, following analysis by the TMO Wayne Barnes, when the ball was judged to have been grounded on the base of the corner flag.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Howell, Andy (16 August 2020). "The Louis Rees-Zammit interview: I definitely want a Wales debut this autumn". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Another Day, Another Honour For Louis Rees-Zammit". Dai Sport. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit Parents: Meet Former Football Player Father Joe Rees-Zammit and Mother Maxine". essentiallysports.com. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Davies, Mathew (5 September 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit says he's 'much better off' now as he breaks silence on cut". Wales Online. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Promising Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit quits rugby to pursue dream of playing in NFL". apnews.com. 16 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Joseph, Sam; Wire, Coy (20 March 2024). "'I'm ready to show everyone what I can do': Rugby star turned NFL hopeful Louis Rees-Zammit on swapping tries for touchdowns". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  7. ^ Thomas, Simon (16 January 2020). "The story of the little boy who grew up to be Welsh rugby's next big thing and the brother who has his back". Wales Online.
  8. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit dating social media influencer and Strictly contestant". Wales Online. 11 November 2023.
  9. ^ Jones, John (21 March 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit officially splits with Saffron Barker as statement issued". Wales Online. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit helping to tackle mental health issues in sport". world.rugby. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Who is Louis Rees_Zammit". 2 April 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  12. ^ Thomas, Alan (14 January 2020). "Another Day, Another Honour For Louis Rees-Zammit". Dai Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit becomes Gloucester Rugby's youngest Premiership player". Gloucester Rugby. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b Mercer, Rosie; Bourne, Nick (23 August 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit: The Welshman chasing his NFL dream". bbc.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  15. ^ "The turning point, key moment and big talking points from Gloucester Rugby's win over Connacht". gloucestershirelive.co.uk. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  16. ^ Iles, Robert (28 December 2019). "Rees-Zammit set a new Premiership record in Gloucester loss". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Gallagher Premiership Rugby Player of the Month: Louis Rees-Zammit". rugbywrapup.com. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  18. ^ "LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT EXTENDS HIS CONTRACT AT GLOUCESTER RUGBY". Gloucester Rugby. 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit named 2019-20 Young Player of the Year". gloucesterrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  20. ^ Halliwell, Mark (27 July 2020). "Gloucester star was 'devastated' not to get a Wales cap in the 2020 Six Nations". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  21. ^ a b c "Louis Rees-Zammit: Gloucester winger learning from Wales experience of being dropped". bbc.com. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Premiership: Northampton 7-31 Gloucester - Louis Rees-Zammit with two tries". bbc.com. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Gloucester 15-44 Saracens: Owen Farrell stars in Challenge Cup quarter-final victory". skysports.com. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  24. ^ Rindl, Josef (9 October 2021). "Premiership: Gloucester 33-32 Sale - Cherry and Whites edge thriller over Sharks". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Premiership Rugby Cup: Gloucester 25-39 Worcester Warriors". bbc.com. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  26. ^ "Watch - 'If he stepped in at the end he would have finished that'". rugbypass.com. 18 February 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Louis Rees-Zammit - Player statistics - It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit lined up by two French clubs for big-money move". walesonline.co.uk. 19 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Six Nations: Wales call up teenager Rees-Zammit and Saracens' Tompkins". BBC Sport. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  30. ^ Thomas, Simon (22 October 2020). "France v Wales team news in full for autumn opener". Wales Online. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  31. ^ Griffiths, Gareth (24 October 2020). "France 38-21 Wales: Antoine Dupont inspires home side in Paris". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  32. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit gets his first Test try". Rugby World. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Rees-Zammit scores try on Six Nations debut as Wales hold off 14-man Ireland". talkSPORT. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  34. ^ English, Tom (13 February 2021). "Scotland 24-25 Wales: Visitors roar to narrow victory at Murrayfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  35. ^ Bazeley, Marc (20 March 2021). "France 32-30 Wales: Brice Dulin snatches last-gasp Six Nations win for hosts to deny visitors the Grand Slam". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  36. ^ Newbury, Jacob (5 April 2021). "Rees-Zammit wins Guinness Six Nations Try of the". Guinness Men's Six Nations. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  37. ^ "Rees-Zammit on shortlist for top World Rugby award". wru.wales. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  38. ^ "All Black Will Jordan wins World Rugby award as Ian Foster misses out". stuff.ca.nz. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  39. ^ Cantillon, Michael (29 March 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit's rugby career in stats: Why NFL Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs wanted Wales flyer". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  40. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)". Rugby World Cup 2023. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  41. ^ Wellens, Megan (29 January 2024). "Full Contact: Six storylines to follow from the Netflix series at the 2024 Six Nations". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  42. ^ "British and Irish Lions 2021: Sam Simmonds in 37-man squad but Billy Vunipola misses out". BBC Sport. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  43. ^ "Rugby-Rees-Zammit becomes youngest Lion in more than 60 years". Reuters. 6 May 2021.
  44. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit scores four minutes into Lions debut". rugbyworld.com. 3 July 2021.
  45. ^ Mairs, Gavin; Goodwill, Jake (7 July 2021). "Duhan van der Merwe and Josh Adams score hat-tricks as Covid-hit Lions put opponents to the sword". The Telegraph.
  46. ^ "South Africa A 17-13 British & Irish Lions: tour match – as it happened". guardian.com. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  47. ^ British and Irish Lions (2021). "Louis Rees-Zammit (B&I Lions)". lionsrugby.com.
  48. ^ Grey, Becky (17 July 2021). "Stormers 3-49 British and Irish Lions: Tourists complete Test preparations with comfortable win". BBC.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  49. ^ Hurcom, Sophie; Pilnick, Brent (16 January 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit: Wales and Gloucester winger to quit rugby to play American football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  50. ^ "Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit takes center stage at NFL's international player pro day". NFL.com. Associated Press. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  51. ^ Baker, Matt (20 March 2024). "Why former Wales rugby prodigy Louis Rees-Zammit chased NFL dream at USF". TampaBay.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  52. ^ a b James, Dylan (20 March 2024). "Louis Rees-Zammit's NFL Pro Day trial results in front of scouts". WalesOnline.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  53. ^ "Ranking The NFL's 25 Fastest Players". the33rdteam. 30 May 2024.
  54. ^ "Titans Legend Chris Johnson Says 'No Question' He's Fastest NFL Player Ever". bleacherreport.com. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  55. ^ "Fastest 40 yard dash times". fantasypros.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  56. ^ @RobMaaddi (20 March 2024). "LRZ told me he was disappointed with his time in the 4.4s and said he's run in the 4.2s and 4.3s" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  57. ^ Lenthang, Marlene; Smith, Alexander (29 March 2024). "Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit turns to NFL and signs with Kansas City Chiefs". NBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  58. ^ "WATCH: Former Wales winger Louis Rees-Zammit makes his NFL debut". rugbydump.com. 12 August 2024.
  59. ^ Dixon, John (26 August 2024). "14 Chiefs absent from Monday's practice". Arrowhead Pride. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  60. ^ "Chiefs Announce Roster Moves". Kansas City Chiefs. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  61. ^ Hamilton, Tom (28 August 2024). "Source: Rugby star Rees-Zammit set to join Jags". ESPN.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  62. ^ "Louis Rees-Zammit". jaguars.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  63. ^ "Rees-Zammit dreaming of Jags debut". skysports.com. 16 October 2024.
  64. ^ @NFLUKIRE (13 October 2024). ""I was here as a fan. Last year I was literally sat over there, and now I'm here as a player!" 🥹" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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