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'We put him at 13, and on a plastic pitch with lots of space, he just absolutely tore it up'

By PA
Louis Rees-Zammit /Getty Images

Alex Guest is not in the least bit surprised that Louis Rees-Zammit has made a blockbusting impact on Test match rugby.

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As Gloucester Rugby’s junior academy manager, Guest worked closely with the Wales wing sensation after he arrived in the west country as a 16-year-old Hartpury College student.

And in the space of four remarkable years, Rees-Zammit has gone from starting his rugby apprenticeship to graduating on the Guinness Six Nations stage by scoring a stunning match-winning try for Wales against Scotland at Murrayfield.

He is also being widely tipped to tour South Africa with the British and Irish Lions this summer if that three-Test tour takes place.

Guest, though, knew from the moment he witnessed Rees-Zammit’s raw talent that he could be something special.

“We’d had Louis in for a couple of sessions with the junior academy at Gloucester, and then he played for our under-17s against Cardiff Blues under-18s,” Guest told the PA news agency.

“We put him at outside centre, and on a plastic pitch with lots of space, he just absolutely tore it up. We knew early doors that he had something exciting.

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“He is a thoroughbred, and his attitude and willingness to understand about what needed to happen to go the next level, you couldn’t fault it.

“When I was coaching him, I probably frustrated him at times! But that’s my role, to check and challenge his understanding of skills and when appropriate to use them.

“He would play wing for Hartpury, and we would try and push him as a 13. The only reason to do that was for him to try and get his hands on the ball as much as possible so he was not relying on his pace all the time.”

Rees-Zammit was so good that he by-passed Gloucester’s senior academy and made his first team debut at the age of 17 against Bath at Kingsholm.

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“He had played in an A League game against Bristol at Clifton,” Guest added.

“He came on, and I think there was only about 10 minutes left. He took a kick-off – you can’t really write this stuff – beat four forwards from his own 22, then beat the scrum-half and full-back.

“And as luck would have it, where he scored his try, Johan Ackermann (then Gloucester head coach) and David Humphreys (then Gloucester rugby director) were stood behind the posts. He could not have scored the try in a better position!

“His first year in the senior squad, it was almost like everything he touched turned to gold.

“There was a game away to Connacht, where he beat somebody, was being tackled into touch, but threw a blind off-load, it went to hand and we won the game.

“There were a couple of times when he would be running at full tilt, and he is picking up passes off his toes. For most people that’s a 50-50 situation, but it was almost like his hands have got magnets in them and he is not going to drop the ball!”

It is difficult to comprehend that Rees-Zammit, who only turned 20 a fortnight ago, has played just 33 games for Gloucester and Wales.

But 21 tries across that career for club and country highlight what rich quality he possesses.

“Whatever level he has played at and whatever challenge we have thrown at him, he has risen to it,” Guest said.

“He has never been about ‘just give me the ball, and I will score’. He has always been a team player, and he will use other attributes to help the team win.

“He knows that he is quick, but if you ask him how quick, he will always make a joke and play it down. He knows if he gets the ball, he will back himself. At every level, he has proven he can beat the best players.

“When you are performing like he is at the moment, you have just got to ride the wave. I think he is going to be an exciting player for a long time.”

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N
NB 46 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Nice bit if revisioniusm but that's all it is JW.


For your further education, I found the following breakdown of one prominent club's finances in the Top 14 [Clermont].


For Clermont (budget of €29.5 million for 2021-2022) :

- 20% from ticket sales

- 17% from the LNR (includes TV Rights, compensation from producing french internationals and other minor stuff)

- 5% from public collectivities (so you're looking at funds from the city of Clermont, the department of Puy-De-Dôme and the region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

- 4% from merchandising and events

- 3% from miscellaneous

- 51 % from sponsorships and partnerships. They've got 550 different partners. The main ones are CGI, Groupama, Limagrain/Jacquet, Omerin, Paprec, Renault and of course Michelin (not surprising since they're actually the founders of the club).


As you can see nothing comes from the FFR at all. The LNR is a separate entitiy to FFR and their aims frequently do not accord.


It is also why the European breakaway plotted by LNR and PR back in 2013 had nothing to do with the governing bodies of either England or France - and it most certainly did not have their blessing https://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/15331030/jean-pierre-lux-anglo-french-cup-detrimental-european-rugby


And from the horse's mouth [ex AB skipper Sean Fitapatrick] about the comp between Top 14 and Super Rugby:


"The Top 14 in France is probably the best rugby competition in the world at the moment, purely for the week-in, week-out.”


“I think the quality of players. They are bigger, they are faster, they are stronger. Which then carries on into the international game.”

Take it from someone who knows JW😅

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