Louis Rees-Zammit has opened up about being told he would never play for Wales and receiving an approach from Eddie Jones to represent England instead. The Jacksonville Jaguars NFL ace was a special guest on the latest instalment of The Overlap's Stick To Rugby podcast, where he discussed his journey before earning his first international cap. Currently preparing for his second season in American football, Rees-Zammit has been in the UK promoting the Jaguars' activities in London ahead of their next season there.

He took the chance to chat with Tom Shanklin, Katy Daly-McLean, and Lawrence Dallaglio about his experiences to date. Rees-Zammit recounted his move from Cardiff Blues (now Cardiff Rugby) to Gloucester's academy during the podcast. The fleet-footed winger shared that after progressing through Cardiff Schools and Cardiff Blues under-16s, he realised he wanted to study at Hartpury College in Gloucester.

Yet, the ex-Wales sensation revealed that Cardiff Blues presented him with a dire warning: "If you go across the bridge, you're not allowed to play for Cardiff. I ended up just making the decision to leave Cardiff Blues. I went over to Hartpury College, and then within two weeks I had a trial at Gloucester, their academy."

"Before that, when they ended up making the decision to leave Cardiff Blues and go to Hartpury, it was a tough decision, because there is one person that told me that I would never play for Wales.

"But I sat down with my family and told them I want to go to Hartpury because of how well known it is for producing great players and a good education as well.

"I went to do A-levels there, and after a day I knew all the rugby players had done a BTEC, so instantly I switched to do a BTEC, which is quite funny, because all of my classes were with all the rugby boys, so you can imagine what the rooms were like. The studying in the library was not really there, we were just fully focused on our rugby at that point. Two weeks in, I joined Gloucester, did the academy."

In a light-hearted exchange, former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio quipped: "That one person who told you that you would never play for Wales, have you seen them recently? Do you want to name and shame him now or not?"

Without hesitation, Rees-Zammit replied: "It's Richard Hodges," identifying the individual as the Cardiff Blues head of academy then. Dallaglio couldn't resist adding another dig, joking: "You could do the Pretty Woman: *huge mistake*!"

Tom Shanklin chimed in, offering an explanation: "I suppose the theory behind it is that they really wanted you to stay and they were probably trying to scare you a little bit,".

"100 per cent they were trying to scare me," Rees-Zammit responded. "They said it to me and my dad. I went to watch a Cardiff Blues game as a fan and he said that to me and my dad afterwards. It actually just put me off, (I thought) I'm definitely going over there now."

"Everyone wants you to be a rugby player but they shouldn't take away your education at the same time," Dallaglio explained. "Especially in rugby clubs, and they're no different in England as well, by the way. They want you to spend more time around the first team if you're talented, like you are, and you're young.

"So they say: 'Don't worry, we'll support your education', but they're not really thinking like that to be honest with you. What they should say is: 'Carry on getting your degree, finish it, and when you're ready, we'll have you'."

Rees-Zammit also revealed on the show that it was former England boss Eddie Jones who first enquired about his international eligibility, following a series of impressive performances for Gloucester in the English Premiership.

"Actually, Eddie Jones rang me first to play for England," Rees-Zammit disclosed. "I think Wales found out about that and within a day I had (Wayne) Pivac call me." Shanklin asked: "Was this during the Six Nations?"

"Yes," Rees-Zammit confirmed. "It was more that I wasn't actually English-qualified, but Eddie Jones was asking if I was and if I wanted to be involved, because I actually did an England camp when I was younger."

"How long have you been at Gloucester at that point?" Dallaglio inquired. "Two years," Rees-Zammit replied. "So it was only one more year and you would have been English-qualified?" Dallaglio probed further. "Yes, it was," the Welsh winger confirmed.

Rees-Zammit also shared his experience of going through an entire Wales campaign without playing a minute. He was part of the squad for the whole 2020 Six Nations, which was disrupted by the pandemic, yet Pivac didn't select him to play.

"I never got picked, I never got capped," he lamented. "I would have still been 18 so I would've been one of the youngest players and it didn't turn out to happen. But then in the autumn internationals, played France away and that was my debut for Wales."

This story first appeared on Wales Online