Wales captain Dan Biggar is backing Louis Rees-Zammit to bounce back after the winger was not included in the matchday 23 for this weekend’s clash against England.
Since his 2020 debut, Rees-Zammit has been the breakout star of Wayne Pavic’s side, scoring six tries in 14 appearances, four of which came in last year’s Guinness Six Nations where the winger was instrumental in a side denied a Grand Slam in Paris by Brice Dulin’s last-gasp try.
Nicknamed ‘Rees-Lightning’ for burning defenders, the winger earned a call up to the British & Lions tour of South Africa.
However, he was taken off at half-time against Ireland after struggling with an ankle injury sustained in the warm-up, and then outmuscled by Darcy Graham for Scotland’s opening try.
Captain Biggar said: “It’s never easy when selection doesn’t quite go your way for one reason or another, but every one of us in the team and management here have gone through it in our careers. Very rarely do you never get dropped or not selected.
“He’s young, he’s burst onto the scene, is an incredible talent and is a real poster boy for Wales, and I don’t think anyone is thinking this is the end for him at all. At 21, he’s got years and years left in him.
“He’ll bounce back no doubt and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him have an absolute stormer for Gloucester this weekend.
“It does act as a real motivation to prove people wrong and I think you’ve got to have that in your character.
“He’s got a big game this weekend for Gloucester and I’m sure it will do him the world of good to get some game time and showcase his talents. He’s an extremely talented boy with a huge future and I’m sure this is just a little blip for him.”
Wayne Pivac has opted for Josh Adams and Alex Cuthbert as his starting wings against England.
Pivac said: “We’ve gone with experience, we’ve gone with a bit of extra work-rate across the field without the ball as well as with the ball. Louis is disappointed, he’ll go away, work hard at his game and be back, I’m sure.
“He’ll be frustrated but I think if you look back to the first Six Nations campaign, he didn’t get any game time, he went away, listened to what the coaches had passed on, worked hard and then had a very successful Six Nations last year. We expect him to go and work hard on his game and come back stronger than he is.”
