Louis Rees-Zammit (; born 2 February 2001) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

who currently plays for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in the English Premiership and for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at national level. In 2021, Rees-Zammit was selected to tour with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

Early life

Rees-Zammit was born in Penarth,

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

in Wales. He attended

The Cathedral School, Llandaff The Cathedral School, Llandaff (Welsh: ''Ysgol y Gadeirlan, Llandaf'') is a coeducational independent day school located in Llandaff, a district north of the Welsh capital Cardiff. Originally established as a choral foundation to train choir boys ...

and played rugby for the school.

Club career

Rees-Zammit started his youth career at Cardiff Blues, before moving to

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

and from there to the academy of

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in ...

. He broke into the Gloucester senior team in the 2019–20 season, becoming the club's youngest ever Premiership player at 18 years and 70 days. Rees-Zammit would also become Gloucester's youngest European player and youngest European try scorer in 2019. He scored two tries against

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

during a 36–3 win in December 2019, and later the same month became the first 18-year-old to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

of tries during a 33–26 loss to Northampton. He received the Premiership Player of the Month Award in December 2019. Rees-Zammit ended his season with 15 tries in 21 appearances, including 10 tries in 10 Premiership starts. On 13 January 2020, Rees-Zammit signed his first professional contract with Gloucester, securing him to the club on a long term deal. Rees-Zammit ended the 2020-2021 season with a record of 11 tries in 20 games and was named Gloucester's Young Player of the Year. Rees-Zammit made his first appearance of the 2021–22 Premiership scoring two tries in the Round 4 victory over Sale.

International career

Wales

Rees-Zammit represented Wales at under-18 level. He received his first call up to the senior

squad, from coach

Wayne Pivac Wayne Pivac (born 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach. In November 2019 he replaced Warren Gatland as the Wales national team coach. A former sworn officer in the New Zealand Police, he was a constable at the Takapuna police station on A ...

, on 15 January 2020 for the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

. He made his debut for Wales, from the bench, in a test match against

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held at Stade de France in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France, in October 2020. Rees-Zammit scored his maiden test try against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on 21 November 2020. He scored his first

2021 Six Nations Championship The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

try, on his Six Nations debut, in the Round 1 match against

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on 7 February 2021. On 13 February 2021, in the Six Nations match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, he scored two tries, including the winning try, and was named as

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. On 21 March, in the Round 5

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decider, against

, Rees-Zammit had a try disallowed, following analysis by the TMO

Wayne Barnes Wayne Barnes (born 20 April 1979) is an English international rugby union referee and barrister. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership, and has refereed games in the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. At international lev ...

, when the ball was judged to have been grounded on the base of the corner flag.

British & Irish Lions

On 6 May 2021, Rees-Zammit was named in the squad for the

2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour that took place in South Africa in July and August 2021. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scot ...

. Rees-Zammit's inclusion made him the youngest Lion selected since the 1959 Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand at the age of 20 years and 93 days. Rees-Zammit made his first Lions appearance in the tours opening provincial game against the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

, scoring the opening try after 3 minutes. Rees-Zammit was then selected to play against the

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in the following game, again getting in the scoresheet as the Lions ran out 54–7 winners. Rees-Zammit would score as a replacement in the final provincial game of the tour on 17 July 2021 against the Stormers, taking his tour tally to 3 tries in 4 appearances.

International tries

Personal life

Rees-Zammit's paternal grandfather emigrated to London from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

References

External links

* * from GloucesterRugbyTV {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees-Zammit, Louis 2001 births Living people British people of Maltese descent Gloucester Rugby players People educated at The Cathedral School, Llandaff Rugby union players from Penarth Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales