Louis Rees-Zammit undergos medical assessment at Bristol (Image: Bristol Bears)
These are your latest rugby headlines on Friday, August 15
Rees-Zammit shows true colours
Louis Rees-Zammit has shown his true colours and how hungry he is to get straight into the thick of things. He will link up with his new Bristol Bears teammates today after his switch to the Gallagher Prem outfit was confirmed last night.
The 24-year-old completed his return to English rugby on Thursday, signing on the dotted line with the Bears just two weeks after revealing that he would be returning to the sport where he first made his mark following 18 months attempting to fulfil his ambition of featuring in the NFL. And he doesn’t want to waste any time in making an impression.
The Wales international winger attracted attention from clubs in England and France, whilst Cardiff also emerged as surprise contenders to land him, but Bristol prevailed in the battle to secure his services and revealed the marquee acquisition yesterday evening, with Rees-Zammit declaring that joining the Ashton Gate outfit was the “obvious choice” for him.
Having travelled back from America to complete the deal yesterday and undergo a medical, the former Gloucester player is diving in from day one, with his new head coach Pat Lam confirming that he would be linking up with the rest of the squad on Friday.
“Louis is a world-class player, and we’re thrilled to welcome him back to rugby union and to the Bears this season,” said Lam.
“Although we have a small squad, we’ve been building quality depth and experience across the team, bringing in players who can cover multiple positions to help us take that next step in the PREM and in Europe.
“Louis offers exactly that to our dynamic back three, with his ability and desire to play both full back and wing for the Bears.. He has the drive and ambition to be one of the best back-three players in the world, and his goals align perfectly with our ambitions as a club.
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“At just 24 years old, we know the athlete and competitor he is. The way we play and the way he wants to play fit seamlessly together, and we’re looking forward to working with him when he joins the group tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Rees-Zammit said: “Bristol Bears was the obvious choice for me. The style of rugby the team play – all about entertaining the fans and growing the game – perfectly aligns to how I want to play and how I express myself on and off the field.
“I want to get fans out of their seats, create exciting moments and help people fall in the love with the game. I’m excited to return to rugby at a club that demands those values. I’m looking forward to working with my teammates, Pat Lam and the coaches and all the backroom team to bring success to the Bears.”
McNally: Cardiff was the ideal switch
Cardiff lock Josh McNally insists his decision to join the capital city region last summer proved to be the “ideal switch” for him, having been handed a fresh start since his arrival at Arms Park. The towering 6ft 7in England international, who joined Matt Sherratt’s team ahead of last season after a five-year spell with Bath, played a significant role in Cardiff’s URC play-off push, making an impressive 21 appearances for the Blue and Blacks.
Despite their efforts, Sherratt’s squad finished just one point and one place shy of the top eight, a result that McNally says has instilled a “huge desire” in him and his teammates to push further this season.
Reflecting on his inaugural season in the capital and looking forward to the upcoming campaign, the 34-year-old confessed he had contemplated retirement before rediscovering his passion for rugby in Wales.
“It really rejuvenated my love for the game,” McNally shared as he discussed his move. “I think once that fire goes out it’s a pretty hard sport to keep playing every week. But I love to come into work every day. It’s been a perfect move for me.”
Reminiscing about the previous season, he added: “The play-offs were never really a target of ours at the start of the year. We were just talking about how we were going to grow and get better as a group and enjoy it along the way.
“But then when we got to that period around the end of the Six Nations, we set a goal and we tried to achieve something. We were underdogs all year. No-one gave us a chance. But all year we fought for everything, fought for every match, fought for every win.
“When we went to South Africa for the final two games, I felt like we had made it, that we were pretty much there. It was disappointing that the results went against us, including our own. In the end, we just missed out. But, ultimately, we left Cape Town thinking we had done a good job during the season.
“When you start goal-setting and looking at where we can go this year, I think it’s a massive positive that the goal we set for ourselves midway through last year we pretty much got there and we were unfortunate not to make the play-offs.
“I think it was a good season. The group, the club and the organisation grew and we were all just excited to get going this year. That’s been reflected in pre-season so far.”
On the upcoming season, McNally said there is now a “huge desire” to make it to the play-offs, adding: “We have shown what we can do against good teams. There’s a desire now that we want to push that, get better as a group and start putting 80 minutes on the pitch.
“If you look at the fixtures this year, pretty much every team that we play at home we’ve got to be targeting that as a result. The way the fans came out last year, I couldn’t believe it, some of the games we played here.
“So going into this year, there’s a huge amount of positivity around the group about what we can achieve and we are just really excited to get out there.”
Scarlets lock pens new deal
Scarlets second row Jac Price has signed a new contract with the region.
The 25-year-old has featured in 59 matches for Dwayne Peel’s outfit since his debut against the Ospreys five years ago, whilst also turning out for Wales U20s at the World Rugby Championships in Argentina in 2019.
He becomes the latest in a series of players to secure their future with the Scarlets, joining the likes of Macs Page, Joe Roberts, Sam Costelow, Taine Plumtree and Johnny Williams who have all signed fresh terms.
“I’m proud to have signed a new contract and to continue to represent this club,” said Price. “I’m a boy from Carmarthen who used to go to watch the Scarlets play at Stradey Park as a youngster. It’s big for me and my family.
“We have a young team who are determined to build on what we achieved at the end of the season in reaching the URC play-offs and qualifying for the Champions Cup. We want to start the season how we finished the last one, in a good place.
“It is great to see the players coming through the academy,” he added. “But there’s still plenty of older heads like Sam (Lousi) and Jake (Ball), who I can learn off and hopefully I can pass on some of my experience to the youngsters coming through – trying to do what those boys have done for me over the years.”
Meanwhile, Peel added: “Jac has become a valued member of the squad having played more than a half century of games for the club.
“He has grown up in the region and understands what it means to be a Scarlet. He has played in some big games for the club over the years and is someone who we feel will mature into a leader within the squad.”