Louis Rees-Zammit Positional Change Creates Problem For Wales

Why? Well, that’s because during Wales’ 2026 Six Nations, the 25-year-old wore the 15 jersey in all five of Wales’ matches.

It’s not an easy transition for anybody to switch from wing to fullback, and for someone who likes to score, it’s proved even trickier for the speedster.

For large parts of the Six Nations, it at times felt like Rees-Zammit was a spectator in matches, not being involved in encounters and having little to no impact on matches.

Albeit that was due to the fact of basically learning on the job as the championship went on. He spoke so openly during the Six Nations about the challenges, the difficulties of playing as an international 15.

Speaking ahead of his side’s Gallagher Prem clash against Bath, Lam added on Rees-Zammit switching back to the wing: “Zam was really keen to play full-back, but the biggest thing is he loves to score tries and is a world-class try scorer.

“What he quickly realised, he was a British Lion as a wing. He wants to be, again. He’s a world-class winger.

Looking back now, it was perhaps a bold move to persist with him at fullback for so long. Then again, who would have replaced him? He’s not the sort of name you can easily drop from an XV, is he?

That raises eyebrows and brings unwanted criticism on Wales head coach Steve Tandy's selections, whose experiment with Rees-Zammit at 15 now looks over.

The stardom of the Bristol player brings with him eyeballs, and undoubtedly, when the bombshell announcement came one late evening, that he would be returning to rugby from the NFL.

That brought some real excitement around Welsh rugby, and now, with Rees-Zammit potentially back on the wing, it raises questions about whether Wales have the strength in depth to replace him.

It does look very likely for the meantime that he’ll continue to wear the 15 shirt, but with a huge meeting against Fiji to kickstart their inaugural Nations Championship campaign, surely positioning the versatile back on the wing may be the best option.

You can’t expect one of Wales’ marquee players to ply his trade as a winger for club and then a completely different position for country. That won’t work. Even with an extended squad announced, there doesn’t appear to be an eye-catching or worthy replacement to play fullback.

It sounds so brutal to say, but with the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon, Tandy needs to start getting his XV in mind that will kick off that tournament in Adelaide against Zimbabwe.

With that said, Rees-Zammit should be on the wing on that day in October 2027. But if Tandy continues to play him at 15 this summer, these three Tests against Fiji, Argentina, and South Africa may be for nothing for the player.

So, who’s next in line to be Wales’ next 15 and possibly the one that goes to the World Cup as well?

Tandy should use the summer to answer that question, and should also use the uncapped match against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, to further help when it comes to making that decision.

Rees-Zammit’s obvious replacement at 15 is Scarlets’ Blair Murray, who wore the shirt for most of 2025 and, unlike the 25-year-old, scored whilst playing in the position.

However, during autumn internationals, the 24-year-old did not reach the heights of the 2025 Six Nations, which almost warranted him a place in Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions side to tour Australia.

His international career has taken a backseat at the moment due to Rees-Zammit playing at 15. His aerial game was brutally poor, which perhaps contributed to Murray being put to one side, and if he is moved back to 15, then he will have to improve vastly.

In some ways, it’s funny that Tandy selected an extended training squad that will get whittled down following the Barbarians match, but at the moment, he has not selected any other players who wear the 15 jersey consistently.

This may open the door to call-ups, maybe. This summer felt like it was Dragons RFC’s Angus O’Brien’s time to be announced in the Welsh squad. That never happened, despite several supporters and pundits claiming the 31-year-old was Wales’ inform fullback.

He’s been huge for the Gwent side, who had an improved United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign, and brilliantly reached the semi-finals of the EPCR Challenge Cup, where they narrowly lost to eventual winners Montpellier.

O’Brien would have offered Tandy something different to other players, but like others who play at fullback consistently, they have been overlooked.

Cardiff’s Cameron Winnett would have been another likely option for Tandy this summer, who’s currently in South Africa preparing to face the DHL Stormers in the quarter-finals of the URC.

Since 2024, Winnett has fallen out of favour with the Welsh setup and last played for his nation against Australia. He’s been fighting to get back in form and prove his fitness, but like O’Brien, he didn’t receive the call-up.

But now it’s a big but: following the sort of bombshell announcement from Lam, it could be a toss of a coin as to who gets called up, or maybe he’ll go back with Murray at 15.

Only time will tell. The only thing now that Tandy should have on his mind is how he can utilise the attacking prowess of Rees-Zammit to become a threat and a player that sides won’t want to play.

Wales need more try scorers, and with Rees-Zammit back on the wing, that could be a difference maker moving forward for the national side.