‘REE-ALITY CHECK MADE ME BETTER’
LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT believes he has emerged from the first stutter of his career better equipped to become the best wing in the world.
The 21-year-old went from being shortlisted for last season’s Six Nations player of the year and picked by the Lions, to getting axed by Wales for their massive game against England this season.
But having dusted himself down after the shock, the flying wing feels he has come out the other side a more resilient and complete player.
“Getting dropped happens to the best,” said Rees-Zammit (in action against Scotland, right). “I just talked to my close mates, like Dan Biggar and Jonathan Davies – players who have done it all.
“They said to me, ‘We’ve all been here – go away and prove to the coaches why you should be in the team’. That’s all I could do, because (Wales head coach) Wayne Pivac wasn’t going to say, ‘Ah, you’re moaning about it, I’ll put you back in!’ I had to go away and prove I could do it and take those learnings on board.
“They wanted me to try to get my hands on the ball more and work harder.
“I went away, came off the bench for Gloucester against Northampton, got the ball in my hands after two minutes and scored. The next week I was picked by Wales in the 23.
“There were some areas where I was quite raw. Going from Under-18s to professional rugby, there’s not half as much box-kicking, so I’ve really had to up my skills there.
“It’s just about doing your ‘work-ons’ in training then going out at the weekend and putting it all on show. Hopefully I’ve done that pretty well. It hasn’t taken me too long.” Being recalled by Wales proved to be a doubleedged sword as ReesZammit was part of the squad beaten by Italy in Cardiff in the final round of the Six Nations. “There wasn’t one player that wasn’t absolutely devastated after the game. We felt embarrassed that we let the fans down,” he added. “It wasn’t good enough and we have got to change that, starting this summer in South Africa.” Before that three-Test tour Rees-Zammit has the climax of the domestic season to enjoy as Gloucester chase success on three fronts, starting at Bristol tonight in the Premiership. Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: “That Six Nations period was the first time he’s had a real bump in the road. “But he just rolled his sleeves up and has been really impressive.”