Wales ought to be pleased with Rees-Zammit – gamers might go the opposite manner!

It’s all the time a harmful premise to talk on behalf of Wales in its entirety. Particularly the entire of Welsh rugby social media. In actual fact, by the point you learn this column the writer could be whimpering over the smouldering stays of his household house.

Nonetheless, the vast majority of Welsh rugby does appear to be pleased with Louis Rees-Zammit’s NFL journey. This isn’t to say that his preliminary soar out of rugby union didn’t come as a shock, it did. On the identical morning as Welsh supporters had been anticipating him to be a part of Warren Gatland’s Six Nations squad, we came upon he was off to the USA. Welsh folks haven’t had that guttural a response to information because the first fuel invoice hikes in 2021.

Associated: How the brand new NFL kick-off guidelines might help Louis Rees-Zammit’s transition

Welsh rugby supporters are in fact used to their greatest gamers leaving for overseas shores. Some nonetheless regard England as a far and distant land, a location to which loads of Welsh gamers have departed and succeeded – and can rightly proceed to take action. Stacks of Welsh gamers moved to France within the mid 2010s, some have moved to Japan and Wales additionally has just a few at present taking part in in Tremendous Rugby.

However there have been intervals in Welsh rugby the place strikes to different codes/sports activities haven’t been acquired so properly. We’re in fact speaking concerning the migration of beginner rugby gamers ‘north’ to skilled rugby league within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties. A transfer which while making each Welsh rugby supporter queasy, additionally made us all change on the Problem Cup closing in our droves. 

However LRZ’s transfer to the NFL feels totally different to the entire above. His transfer to American soccer seems like he’s moved to a special planet and a special sporting photo voltaic system. Whereas there are some NFL followers in Wales, it’s nonetheless a distinct segment sport and also you’re simply as more likely to see somebody driving a unicycle via a park in Cardiff as you’re somebody ‘lacing’ an American Soccer to one among their mates.

Earlier than we talk about LRZ’s transfer to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in any additional element, we should talk about how troublesome a journey lies forward of the previous wing/full-back.  For these of us whose understanding of the NFL comes from watching the Tremendous Bowl yearly (and a stable 20 years of taking part in the online game Madden NFL in its numerous guises since 1988), the method of truly taking part in within the NFL is much more sophisticated than a number of the performs.

Whereas in rugby you signal for a crew, after which play for that crew, that’s not the case within the NFL. The method is much extra refined, and includes the recruits being sieved extra instances than buckwheat at a gastro pub. 

Though LRZ has been all around the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ social media (carrying their colors), he nonetheless apparently has a minuscule probability of leaping the present queue of working backs and broad receivers. Who’ve in any case been gearing up for his or her probability within the NFL for 15 years plus – not 15 weeks.

American soccer is clearly very totally different to rugby in its execution, however in some methods the route into the higher ranges of the game is much more distinctive. When you’ve ever watched any of the American soccer documentaries on Netflix, you’ll know simply what number of American athletes dedicate their complete being simply to get right into a tier one college, by no means thoughts play professionally. 

It’s presumably this problem of success, and the truth that it’s a world away from rugby, that makes the folks of Wales so pleased with what LRZ is making an attempt to attain. It’s nearly like we see him as extra of an export of which to be proud, like our PGI Welsh Lamb or Halen Mon Salt.

It could in fact be that the NFL is utilizing LRZ as a advertising instrument to broaden enchantment within the UK market and extra significantly with UK based mostly rugby followers – it wouldn’t be the primary time {that a} geographically restricted sport has tried that. However even when they’re certainly doing that, it’s improbable that they’ve chosen a Welsh athlete with which to do it.

Nonetheless, if I do know Welsh folks, and I do, there’s a far larger objective for LRZ that none of us are speaking about brazenly. Even when the LRZ NFL highway does finish abruptly, we’re secretly hoping that he spreads the phrase of Welsh rugby amongst these different 6ft 3in, 4.5 second working, 16st freaks who don’t make it into the NFL.

And as an alternative, might heat to the concept of a four-year deal taking part in inside-centre with the Ospreys, full with a 4 bed room home overlooking Mumbles. Or failing that, LRZ falls in love with a 6ft 8inch energy ahead from the Kansas Jayhawks and brings house a child who’s probably 7ft tall and may run a 40m in below 4.2 seconds. 

Both manner, we’re all proud and weirdly excited. Pob lwc, Louis. We’re all behind you, for various causes.

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