Former Honda Heat target Louis Rees-Zammit has not made the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man final squad for the 2024 NFL season.
Rees-Zammit, 23, who sensationally quit rugby union on the eve of this year’s Six Nations, has been overlooked by the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
The former Wales wing can now talk to other NFL franchises and if he’s not signed could still earn a place on the Chiefs’ practise squad.
The Rugby Paper in England linked the Welshman with an unlikely move to League One Division One’s then-winless basement club Honda Heat in a story on 7 January.
Kieran Crowley’s Honda side went on to finish 11th last season (out of 12 teams) and narrowly defeated Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi in the relegation/promotion play-off to retain their top-flight status.
Honda have had one of the busiest summers in League One after signing 14 players.
Japan international Lomano Lemeki has returned to Mie while former Saitama lock Mark Abbott, Bulls lock Janko Swanepoel, ex-Liners number eight Tevita Tupou, former Chiefs centre Johnny Fa'auli and Saracens fly-half Manu Vunipola, whose the cousin of England brothers Billy and Mako Vunipola, have all joined the club.
League One clubs will be on red alert if Cardiff product Rees-Zammit, who played for Gloucester from 2018 – 2024, leaves America.
If a League One club could pull off one of the biggest deals in Japan Rugby history and lure the Welshman to the tier one nation, then the club would have the eyes of the world on them and there would be plenty of old Japanese company executives salivating at that prospect.
Welsh players Liam Williams, Jake Ball, Rhys Patchell, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler and Cory Hill all play in Japan while all-time great Shane Williams finished his career with three seasons at the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars from 2012 - 2015.
The 6ft 3in, 209-pound back has won 32 Test caps for Wales which means that he would remain eligible for his country if he took a contract overseas after the previous 60-cap requirement for players based outside of Wales was lowered to 25 in 2023.
Cash-rich outfits such as Suntory Sungoliath has a reputation of enticing marquee names such as Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Cheslin Kolbe and Sam Cane to Japan.
Toshiba Brave Lupus boasts 2024 MVP Richie Mo'unga and fellow All Black Shannon Frizell while the majority of South Africa’s first-choice XV play in Japan including Jessie Kriel (Yokohama), Faf de Klerk (Yokohama), Damian de Allende (Saitama) and Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota) with Kurt-Lee Arendse (Dynaboars) coming aboard next season.
One-time Six Nations winner Rees-Zammit, who burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old during the 2019/20 Premiership season, said he’d accomplished everything he wanted to go in rugby union when he entered the NFL International Pathway.
The reality is that he barely scratched the surface of what he’s capable of within the game with Gloucester and Wales fans daring to dream of a Rees-Zammit return next season while potential suitors hurry to assemble a financial war chest.
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