Louis Rees-Zammit says his American football dream is “alive” after moving from rugby union to the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP). The rugby world was shocked last month when Gloucester, Wales and the British and Irish Lions quit the sport in an attempt to sign a contract with an NFL team through 2024.
Rees-Zammit has joined the NFL’s intensive 10-week IPP program in Florida, where he is receiving wide receiver training and also doing some running back training.
“There are a lot of transferable skills in rugby,” Rees-Zammit, 23, told BBC Wales’ Scrum V programme. “I absolutely love training. My pursuit of joining the NFL is still there and I’m excited to see what happens in the next 10 weeks. It’s hard to understand it at first, but like everything, you get used to it. From the side vision [of the helmet] Kind of affects things. But I’m used to it now and I’ll see what happens. “
Rees-Zammit said 10 international players have joined the IPP and a pro day is held at the end of the program to determine if an individual is good enough to make the NFL.
He said: “You basically come here, play football on and off the field, in the classroom, and train six days a week. Ten weeks of intensive training to see if your dream becomes a reality. It was the hardest decision of my life. [to leave rugby], but this has been something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, and I think now is the right time. If it works out, I have 10 years to try and play the sport I grew up watching, or I can go back to rugby and play the sport I love. “
In the absence of Rees-Zammit, Wales lost their first two games of the Six Nations, narrowly beating Scotland and England 27-26 and 16-14 respectively.
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“I was jealous of the boys’ game and in my mind I was very sorry that I didn’t play,” Rees-Zammit said of Wales’ defeat at Twickenham on Saturday. “The guys adjusted, but in the end we lost, which was tough. They gave it their all. Gates [Warren Gatland, Wales head coach] When I told him my decision, I was in disbelief.he asked if [American football] Not doing what I wanted to do, I obviously said I would go back to rugby. “
