Rees-Zammit mania continues among Welsh fans despite his exclusion
There have been two main talking points since Wayne Pivac named his Wales team on Thursday to face Italy in this Saturday’s Six Nations opener.
One is the controversial decision to start George North at outside centre, opting to keep uncapped Nick Tompkins on the bench.
While North is an accomplished Test player, few see him as a comfortable centre, as opposed to Saracens’ Tompkins, who is.
The second is the absence of teenage sensation Louis Rees-Zammit, who misses out on the matchday 23 altogether.
The hysteria surrounding the Gloucester winger over the past few weeks has barely been seen before for a player so young.
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New Wales coach Wayne Pivac expects a strong start to Six Nations from his team
It reached fever pitch with the apparent battle with England which ensued, as both nations tried to cap him first.
The 18-year-old pledged his allegiance to Wales, but much of the Welsh public wanted to see him capped on Saturday.
Oh come on… at least a bench spot for Louis Rees-Zammit#gutted
— Joe Wheeler (@WheelerJoseph) January 30, 2020
Seriously disappointed there’s no Zammit! Mature and ready, 1st game at home to Italy, will be harder to to give him game time until round three now.
— Ian Martin Williams (@DGR1978) January 30, 2020
Good team, but would’ve been good time to play Zammit!
— Declan??????? (@DeclanDrum) January 30, 2020
Josh Adams was never going to be dropped given his form in red over the past year, but there seems to be a split between who should have started out of Rees-Zammit and Johnny McNicholl, both of whom would be earning their first cap.
Pivac has opted for the New Zealand-born winger, which is understandable as he not only coached him at the Scarlets, but this is off the back of high-level performances for a while now in contrast to Rees-Zammit’s recent, albeit monumental, rise to fame.
Disappointed to say the least. Gareth Davies not in Squad? no Zammit. Perfect game for him. Off bench in 60 mins. North best have game of his life. Webb??great player but needs to show form. Lewis as well . Best get positive . Good luck Wales ???????
— Stuart Griffiths (@stuart73g) January 30, 2020
Shame not to see Zammit in the Squad. If you’re good enough you’re old enough. Would have loved to see him come on 2nd half when legs are tiring
— Mike (@brynybrath) January 30, 2020
While some feel the Gloucester wing was worthy of a place on the bench, the outside back spot has been taken by Tompkins, who is perhaps more worthy given the question marks lingering over North at outside centre.
No @LouisReesZammit ??? ??? You jokers!!!
— Dave Kinder (@SupernovaDave) January 30, 2020
Where is Louis Rees-Zammit?? pic.twitter.com/Hd2IYfxuuf
— ? ? (@eblouissantkook) January 30, 2020
It had been said that Italy would have been a good opportunity to hand Rees-Zammit his debut, as it usually isn’t as rigorous a Test as the other matches, but the same applies to both McNicholl and Tompkins. Then again, for a player that only turns 19 on Sunday, Rees-Zammit has plenty of time.
WATCH: The Rugby Pod sets the scene ahead of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations and reflects on yet more Saracens fallout
Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments