Louis Rees-Zammit was chosen in Wayne Pivac’s initial squad, but hasn’t been named in any of the five games in this year’s tournament. Despite the lack of a cap the winger isn’t eligible for England yet and here’s why.
Residency eligibility issues
The laws for World Rugby’s eligibility now lie at five years, not three, aiding to cut down on the amount of ‘project players’ that countries were selecting.
Now, Louis Rees-Zammit who studied at Hartpury for three years and has been out of education for almost one year, But, he is not a season away from being eligible for England (if going by the numbers).
Why?
Well, as he was a student for three of those years they don’t count. Student residency doesn’t come under the five-year bracket and so only once he left would his time start ticking over.
Thus his journey for five years would have only began in September.
No desire with England for Louis Rees-Zammit
Now, despite the ramifications of an England call-up down the line and the Welsh call-up to the Six Nations squad the Cherry and Whites winger has himself admitted on Twitter that his desire is to play for Wales and not England.
???????
— Louis Rees-Zammit (@LouisReesZammit) December 21, 2019
There was a similar case involving the two nations when Alex Dombrandt, now of Harlequins, was studying at Cardiff Met.
His desire was to feature in the English setup and he wasn’t eligible for Wales despite his tenure for education, down to the ruling on residency qualifications. Wales U20s not being the catchment team for senior rugby.
Had a few people ask about Alex Dombrandt’s Welsh squad chances.
He’s not Welsh qualified. Played for Wales U20s under student residency but not eligible for senior Test rugby.
Hope that clears it up.
— Robert Rees (@Rreesrugby) January 14, 2019
Despite all of the conjecture, it does seem that Louis Rees-Zammit only has one country on his mind; Wales.
“Main photo credit”