Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit (22, 31 caps) announced on Tuesday his intention to continue his career in the NFL, the North American football league, with immediate effect. On X (ex-Twitter), the Gloucester wing indicated that he would join an induction program for foreign players, hoping to play in the NFL next season.
"While this decision may come as a surprise, it doesn't mean I'm out of rugby forever. Simply, at my age and at this stage of my life, I want to try this challenge to diversify my individual technique," Rees-Zammit said on his social media. "Leaving international rugby on the eve of the Six Nations was a painful decision," he continued. It leaves the Leek XV without one of its favourite players, less than three weeks before the opening of the tournament.
pic.twitter.com/gO1jPLXDPA
— Louis Rees-Zammit ⚡️ (@LouisReesZammit) January 16, 2024
His club Gloucester agreed to release him. "We understand the magnitude of this opportunity and the ambition he has always had to play in the NFL," CEO Alex Brown said in a statement. Rees-Zammit will leave the U.K. this week for Florida, where he will complete the induction program. He could be a candidate for the 2024 regular season, which kicks off Sept. 5. The links between rugby union and American football are very rare, but not unprecedented.
Racing 92, for example, has Christian Wade, a former England international who left to play in the NFL from 2018 to 2022, before returning to XV in the Hauts-de-Seine.