Louis Rees-Zammit returned to rugby after fearing his talent was being wasted on the practice pitches of the cutthroat world of American football. The Wales star had an 18-month crack at making it Stateside with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars before admitting defeat and heading home to union.
Rees-Zammit, who has 32 Welsh caps, signed for Bristol earlier this month after failing to make the transition from union wing to running back or wide receiver. The 24-year-old, who is on a one-year deal at the Bears, failed to play a full-on pro game in the States and spent most his time on the training ground but has no regrets at having a go. He said: “I just felt I was wasting my talent out there to be honest.
“It’s very difficult to get into the NFL if you haven’t come through the college system. You just don’t get the same opportunities as those boys. I wasn’t getting many reps and I was fed up when I was practicing there.
“But the experience was unbelievable. Living in a new country, completely different culture, being involved in a locker room which was completely different to rugby. All those experiences are only going to help me, coming back.
“My leadership skills have gotten a lot better, just being next to those global figures like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. They are absolutely huge figures and everything they do day to day I learnt from.”
Rees-Zammit knew he was up against it to make it from the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program after speaking to Christian Wade, who tried the same trick but was released by the Buffalo Bills in 2022. He added: “I just knew how ruthless it was out there. It was absolutely brutal. I was seeing new players every day, players cut every day and it was pretty tough.
“I knew that going out there, I spoke to Christian a lot and he told me his experiences but when I went out there I saw it at first hand. That was the reason for me never ruling rugby out because I could have got cut within the first day of being there.
“I gave it my best shot and maybe I didn’t get the opportunities players coming out of college did. It makes sense really from a coach’s point of view, because those boys have been playing that sport for so long. I am very real about, it probably wasn’t for me in the end but there are no regrets.”
Rees-Zammit has already spoken to Wales coach Steve Tandy and is attracting attention from the rebel R360 league due to launch next year.
“Wales is my country and I absolutely love playing for them,” he said.