Getty PicturesFormer Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit simply wants extra time after struggling to interrupt by in American soccer, based on the NFL’s high boss within the UK.
The 23-year-old give up rugby union earlier this 12 months to pursue an NFL profession, first with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, however hasn’t performed within the league but.
The overall supervisor of NFL within the UK and Eire, Henry Hodgson, tells BBC Newsbeat “nobody’s finished” what Rees-Zammit’s making an attempt to do in such a “brief area of time”.
“There’s loads for him to be taught,” Henry says.
“His pure expertise will stand him rather well within the NFL however he must be taught the nuance of the sport.
“He’s doing properly and hopefully we’ll see him if not this season, subsequent 12 months.”
‘He might set a season on hearth’
Though it has been a bumpy begin for Rees-Zammit, Henry hopes his transition will encourage athletes to check out for a spot within the league, fairly than put them off.
“What he is doing is encouraging children on this nation that there’s a pathway – he is simply doing it in a really accelerated timeline.
“We’ve got an NFL Academy within the UK which takes youngsters aged 16-18, so as a substitute of making an attempt to do what he is finished in 10 months, we’re speaking about doing that over an extended time frame,” he says.
He factors to Travis Clayton from Basingstoke, who’s been signed to the Buffalo Bills after a brief spell with the Academy, as somebody who exhibits that with extra time “it may be finished”.
Getty PicturesRees-Zammit was one among Wales’ finest gamers, with 32 caps since making his debut in 2020 however mentioned earlier this 12 months he was ready for a new challenge.
He additionally had a profitable profession with Gloucester, the place he performed as a winger after first becoming a member of the facet as a youngster.
Henry says it was “a daring step” and in August he confronted a set-back when he failed to make the squad for Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs, prompting his transfer to the Jags.
Different rugby gamers have tried to make the transfer to the NFL, with restricted success.
Former gaelic footballers Charlie Smyth and Jude McAtamney, who like Rees-Zammit got here by the NFL’s worldwide participant pathway programme, additionally missed out on squad places this year.
“They’re comparable sports activities in the truth that they’re contact sports activities however they’re additionally very, very completely different,” Henry says.
He hopes Rees-Zammit may break the streak and is anticipating to see him play in London this week.
“Will probably be nice for him to get some motion and fingers crossed that may occur,” he says.
Getty PicturesAnd at Sunday’s match, some followers instructed Newsbeat they had been optimistic about Rees-Zammit’s future.
“There’s so many huge names that flop however one good recreation and he might set a season on hearth,” says Tom, from London, who’s been coming to NFL video games within the capital for 10 years.
Jags fan Bernard who travelled from Florida to assist his facet is worked up too.
“He is an excellent addition for us,” he says. “He brings a distinct side of the game, completely different methods we will use.”
The Jags are amongst 5 US groups within the UK for the 2024 NFL London Video games, being held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There’s one last match between New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars on 20 October.
Greater than 60,000 followers attended every recreation and Henry says the game is making an effort to develop, significantly with youthful audiences.
He says there’s been a “world peak of curiosity” previously 12 months since Taylor Swift confirmed her relationship with Kansas Metropolis Chiefs participant Travis Kelce, which he hopes will carry over to UK followers.
“The leisure that comes with the NFL, which incorporates Travis and Taylor, that’s in our DNA,” Henry says.
“What now we have to do is then persuade them the game is superior as properly.”
