The 25-year-old is getting to grips with a new position this season after his return from the NFL
Wales full-back Louis Rees-Zammit says he has yet to hit his prime as he admits his ultimate aim is to be one of the world’s best.
The 25-year-old will feature for Bristol Bears this weekend at his “home ground” Principality Stadium, as the Gallagher Prem club travel to Cardiff for their Big Day Out clash with Harlequins. The likelihood is Rees-Zammit will be wearing the 15 jersey, with full-back seemingly his long-term position after returning to rugby union last year.
Having spent nearly two years trying to crack American football stateside, Rees-Zammit returned to his first sport last summer.
While he was initially used in his familiar position of wing for club and country, both Bristol and Wales have taken to using the former Gloucester flyer at full-back.
JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more
During the Six Nations, where Rees-Zammit didn’t manage to cross the whitewash for Wales, he admitted the transition had been a frustrating one at times – with those instincts in the 15 jersey not fully developed just yet.
However, the flipside is that when he does start to see things unfolding a split-second earlier, the opportunities from full-back could bring Rees-Zammit even more tries.
“I’m feeling more comfortable,” said Rees-Zammit. “Obviously this is my first year playing it and I’ve probably played 10 games.
“So the more I play there, the more comfortable I’ll feel. I do feel comfortable now, but every game is different and there’s different scenarios within those. The more games I play, it will only help me improve as a player.
“It’s obviously two different systems, playing for Bristol and Wales. One’s had Pat Lam for nine years, the other has had Steve Tandy for six months.
“So it’s going to take time with Wales. But whenever I play for Bristol, the way we play, I’m able to get a lot of touches of the ball. I think you saw that more in the Italy game.
“I thought I got a lot more touches, a bit more space. I’m loving playing full-back. I really enjoy it.
“It allows me to have a lot of freedom, especially playing here. The boys are really good in terms of giving me ball in space. That’s when I can be effective.”
The bounce of the ball didn’t go Rees-Zammit’s way against Italy, with the British and Irish Lion enduring some frustrating moments. Still, he knows it’s better to be frustrated by the final pass not landing, than simply being a bystander.
“As many touches as I can get on the ball as possible to try and create something is going to be best for me,” he added. “Whenever I get the ball, I’m trying to help the team out. I’m trying to create something out of nothing or create in terms of assists, line-breaks or post-contact metres.
“Whatever that may be, I want to touch the ball as many times as possible. That’s my aim going into games.”
Both Lam and Tandy told Rees-Zammit at the start of the season that they wanted him to play full-back. He admits he “didn’t need my arm twisting” to switch positions.
“That’s the plan for now,” he said. “I’ll play wherever the coach want me to play – I’m happy with either full-back or wing in terms of my long-term future.”
Regardless of what position he’s playing, the former Jacksonville Jaguar feels he’s back up to speed after that initial “rusty phase” following his return from the NFL.
And that only serves his lofty ambition of being a world-class talent.
“I’m only 25,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve hit my prime in my career yet.
“I’m still learning off my coaches and team-mates every day, trying to get better in training. Just whatever it takes to become one of the best players in the world, which is my goal.
“I’m going to continue to do it every day. I’m only young, I’m trying to improve every day and get better.”
That will start with the final stretch of the season with Bristol, which he describes as the “perfect place” for him. Wales’ growth during the Six Nations will also help his cause.
“The coaches and boys stuck really together through that period,” he explained. “We played Scotland, just about lost, then played Ireland and the same happened again.
“Those little wins in the game, though, we can build on more of them. It’ll help the team so much. It showed against Italy. They’d just come off a big win – I mean, every team we played in the Six Nations was coming off a big win.
“We seemed to be playing the form team every game. But to get that win under our belts in the final game, I thought that was huge. The performances were getting better and better. It leads nicely into the summer.
“We played that France game and they scored two tries in the first seven minutes. Our defence was too narrow. We worked on that massively and it brought our whole game to life.
“We’ve got the players to defend for long periods and create transition. That’s when I thrive, off transition.”
Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.