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Louis Rees-Zammit didn't sleep for two days over single incident against England

By PA
(Photo by PA)

Louis Rees-Zammit helped roar Wales to their last Grand Slam as an excited spectator – but two years on he is chasing the dream as one of Test rugby’s most thrilling talents.

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The 20-year-old Gloucester wing will win his eighth Wales cap in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Italy.

And victory over the Azzurri would leave Wales needing to topple France next week in pursuit of a sixth Six Nations title and fifth Grand Slam.

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Finn, Ryan and Zebo tears it up on The Offload:

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Finn, Ryan and Zebo tears it up on The Offload:

Rees-Zammit underlined his electrifying talent by scoring tries against Ireland and Scotland last month, and he was inches away from adding another one during a Triple Crown-clinching victory over England 12 days ago.

On that occasion, the ball would not sit up for him following a long counter-attacking kick and chase, but his worth to Wales is increasing by the second.

Wales beat England and Ireland at home during the 2019 Six Nations clean sweep – experiences that Rees-Zammit fondly recalls.

“I was at the England game, at the top of the stands celebrating when ‘Jadsy’ (Josh Adams) scored in the corner, and the Ireland game too,” Rees-Zammit said.

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“Two years ago I would never have thought this would be the situation I would be in, but I am, so I have to live in it and show everyone what I am about and hopefully perform this weekend.

“I only live 10 minutes away from the stadium (Principality Stadium), so I’ve gone to watch Wales since I was a kid, really, with my parents.

“I couldn’t tell you how many games, but loads. I’ve grown up supporting Wales. It has all come very fast, and I am loving it, to be honest.”

Although Rees-Zammit only made his international debut less than five months ago, his attention to detail and exacting standards that he sets himself are underlined by that agonising try-miss against England.

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“Trying to do something every time I get the ball is my goal,” he added.

“I was devastated that I didn’t score in the 70th minute (against England), or whatever it was. I couldn’t sleep for two days afterwards.

“Every time I tried to fall asleep I would think about that ball, how it didn’t bounce up for me or how I tried to kick it.

“I know those moments are going to come a lot in my career, and I have just got to move on to the next job. With the bounce of the ball it’s a tough one, but other things like diving into the corner or the kicks over the top you can practise.

“As long as we get the win, that is all that matters.

“It is all about momentum, and obviously winning at home against Ireland and going up to Scotland and doing a job up there really helped us in terms of momentum, and thankfully we got the win against England as well.

“We are not really focusing on the Grand Slam at the moment. We’ve got a big game ahead this weekend.

“It has been quite a chilled week. We are not really listening to the outside, we are just trying to keep it all in our camp, really.”

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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