The Wales full-back hasn’t found his new position the easiest when it comes to scoring tries
It’s perhaps a question Louis Rees-Zammit would never have expected to face. But is he as quick as Rhys Carre?
“As of last weekend, no,” laughs the Wales full-back. Days ago, the Saracens prop was hurtling towards the Irish line on the way to a remarkable score.
“I’d just come up from a breakdown and the next minute we’ve scored a try. All credit to Rhys, we’ve seen him do things like that in training, but to score like that in a game is a bit different. It was unbelievable.”
Right now, loosehead Carre leads the try-scoring charts for Wales in this year’s Six Nations. Rees-Zammit, however, has yet to dot down.
It’s an unfamiliar position he finds himself in, having not troubled the scorers yet. It’s been four matches since he last scored against New Zealand in the autumn.
In that sense, it’s been a fairly frustrating tournament for Rees-Zammit – a man whose currency has always, undoubtedly, been tries.
“Obviously, I want to try and get as many touches as possible in the game,” says the 25-year-old. “But I don’t think we’ve had that many attacking sets, to be honest with you, throughout all the games.
“Our forwards have been very good the past two games, with their carrying and even Rhys Carre has scored a fair few. But, we’ll get there. As a group, this is Steve’s first campaign. We’re trying to set an identity.
“Obviously, he’s a defensive coach, but I think you’ve got to sort out your defence first and then your attack will come. Because you don’t want to be giving up 50 points and then having to try and score 51 points.
“I think as soon as you can start defending sets over and over again, then you can start working on your attack. You’ll get the ball back, which we weren’t obviously doing in the first two games.
“But in the most recent games, I think, we’ve been in the game for a lot longer. The pictures were there. Matt Sherratt was showing us at half-time, there were opportunities to get the ball in the hands of our back three hands.
“Again, it’s just communicating that into our playmakers early enough to make the right decision. Hopefully, come this weekend, we’ll be able to show that.”
Certainly, that is what Rees-Zammit is banking on.
His longest stretch without scoring for Wales is five Tests. That is staring him down the barrel this weekend against Italy, as is just the second campaign for Wales where he hasn’t scored at least one try.
That was in the 2022 Six Nations, when Rees-Zammit was actually dropped mid-tournament by Wayne Pivac. At the time, he was barely six months removed from a Lions tour following a meteoric rise.
Last summer wasn’t spent with the Lions, but rather plotting his return from the NFL.
Were it not hard enough making the return to rugby union, Rees-Zammit is finding his feet in a relatively new position.
He had, of course, played full-back before his two-year dalliance with American football, but in this Six Nations alone, he’s played more in the 15 jersey for Wales than he did in the 32 caps he won before heading stateside.
Even now, he’s not passed 20 games in senior rugby in the position. Yet, so far in seven appearances for Wales in the 15 jersey, he’s yet to score wearing it.
“It’s something I am new to,” he says. “I’ve played there this season for Bristol.
“It’s just different. In the Premiership at Bristol you get a lot more space and they’ve had a system in place for nine years under Pat Lam. Everyone knows what they are doing and where they need to be in every circumstance in the game.
“We’re obviously just starting with a fresh slate with Steve (Tandy) coming in with a new way of playing. I am just getting used to it.
“This will be my fifth game in a row at No 15 and I just have to try to get my hands on the ball more in attack. Some of that is on me getting in the right positions.”
For so long, Rees-Zammit was used to be being the man on the edge – finishing off opportunities whenever they came his way. Even in the autumn – two years after his last appearance for Wales – the statistics were stark.
Two starts, two tries.
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The 15 jersey is a different kettle of fish, forcing Rees-Zammit to find other ways to get the ball. It’s not always been easy.
“When it is off transition, the ball has already shifted so I need to try to pre-empt what’s going to happen,” he explains. “That just takes time, I guess, when I’m playing in a different position.
“When I’m in the back field and we’ve just turned over the ball, I’ve got to try to get in the line and by then the ball is just naturally going away. I’ve got to pre-empt how I can get into a position for them to pass me the ball.”
Yet, for both his own scoring hopes and Wales’ attacking improvements, Rees-Zammit feels further improvements aren’t far around the corner.
“100 per cent (it’s coming),” he says. “I think the past two games we should have won them both.
“But obviously two very good outfits in Scotland and Ireland, who have been together for a long, long time. Same coaches have been there for years.
“We’re just building and I said it after the France game we’ve just got to start trusting each other, and I think we’ve really started to do that the past two games.
“That’s why we’ve been able to put performances on that have been exciting for not just us playing, but people watching as well.”