Rees-zammit And The Question We're All Asking

At Rees-Zammit's first property convention aft coming home, nan room buzzed. Clips of him speaking and training flew crossed societal media. One short video deed a cardinal views crossed our Instagram and TikTok accounts.

That matters .

Because Welsh rugby has ever understood heroes – but it has not ever understood reach.

Previous generations of players sold thing deeper than popularity. Sir Gareth Edwards and Shane Williams did not conscionable excite crowds, they embodied belief, personality and corporate pride. They did not request to deliberation astir platforms aliases algorithms.

Rees-Zammit lives successful a different sporting world.

He is comfortable successful spaces rugby traditionally avoided. He understands really athletes are now consumed, not conscionable connected terraces but connected phones. He does not apologise for that. And that is precisely why he divides opinion.

Some spot style complete substance. Others spot evolution.

To research that divide, I said to journalists, fans and chap broadcasters. One who has spent decades covering Welsh rugby and, for illustration galore of his generation, asked a adjacent question: what is really caller here?

It is simply a reasonable challenge.

But erstwhile I took nan aforesaid speech connected to nan streets of Cardiff, nan consequence was striking.

Fans, peculiarly younger ones, spot Rees-Zammit arsenic a span betwixt rugby and a wider audience. Between contented and modern sport. Between a crippled fighting for relevance and a procreation that consumes it differently.

They do not spot him arsenic a problem. They spot him arsenic an opportunity.