Rugby Union is being warned by Louis Rees-Zammit’s NFL move, but will it heed the warning? – Nick Westby
Rees-Zammit, one of the most promising players in British rugby union, shockingly left the Wales national team on the eve of the Six Nations to follow his ambition of becoming a professional American football player, barely two months ago.
He is said to have joined with an NFL team two months later. Not just any NFL team, either. The Kansas City Chiefs, who have won three of the last five Super Bowls, are the best NFL club.
In just eight weeks, he went from catching receptions on the Welsh wing to catching passes from NFL poster kid Patrick Mahomes.
Three months after joining the NFL, Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales scores his team’s fourth try in the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match against Georgia and Wales. (Image: Getty Images/Catherine Ivill)
In any case, that is the captivating headline. The actuality is somewhat distant.
Rees-Zammit completed a 10-week crash course to bring himself up to speed on one of the more intricate team sports before moving forward through the NFL’s foreign player pipeline.
Before he ever approaches the final 53-man roster the Chiefs will open the season with, he must clear a number of obstacles. He is anticipated to join the Chiefs practice squad.
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