THE LINK BETWEEN Rob Russell and Louis Rees-Zammit goes beyond their shared position.
Last August, the Welsh wing announced that his NFL sojourn was over. He by no means embarrassed himself, spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs before landing on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. Still, after a year without earning a regular-season appearance, Rees-Zammit came home.
Well, almost. Back to rugby as the day job, but not Gloucester, the club which he originally left to head Stateside.
When it became known that Rees-Zammit wanted to return to rugby, the Cherry and Whites – Munster’s Champions Cup opponents this weekend – flirted with the idea of bringing back a high-profile talent.
Only their squad was full. A few months earlier, they signed Russell after Leinster opted against offering a contract extension to the 26-year-old wing. Gloucester’s backfield was full and their playing budget for the coming season was spent.
Rees-Zammit ultimately joined west country rivals Bristol. “I was like, ‘I wonder if he’s coming here?’” recalls Russell. “Thankfully for me, he’s not!”
Rob Russell of Gloucester Rugby evades a tackle against Castres in Round 1 of the Champions Cup. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
When it emerged towards the end of last season that Russell was departing Leinster, a muted external reaction would have been forgiven. The former St Michael’s pupil played 35 times in five years with the province, all of them in the URC. He didn’t make his European debut until Gloucester’s recent win over Castres.
Apart from a 20-minute appearance for Emerging Ireland in 2024, Russell didn’t look like he was on Ireland’s radar either. In the final year of his contract, injuries limited him to just two Leinster games.
“It was a little bit out of my hands,” says Russell of the decision to move on. “I played the first game of the URC, then went on the Emerging Ireland tour. I got injured on that and was basically injured for the whole year. I came back for one game, got 20 minutes and then was injured again.
“It was the toughest year in my career so far, but looking back, it suited me quite well leaving Leinster. I would have loved to stay but I do think I needed a change. I wasn’t playing for Ireland and wasn’t getting many minutes during the season as well. Getting away has really worked out well for me so far.”
Yet this isn’t quite as simple as case as ‘fringe player leaves in search of more game time.’ In the season before his injury woe, Russell scored seven tries in 14 games. The year before, that figure was 10 in 13.
He had a good record for finding the line and, as it turns out, was arguably the fastest runner at Leinster. The last year – a time when Russell was mostly on the treatment table – has seen a growing public debate about Irish rugby’s relationship with pace.
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Ireland has moved away from their possession-dominant style to one based more on kicking and broken field opportunities. More runners with pace are needed to exploit these. Bad timing for injured speedsters.
“It could have gone differently had I had a season like that last year. Maybe I’d still be there,” says Russell. “I’m only speculating. Even then, those seasons, they were good for me but now I’m 26, I don’t know how much longer I would have been comfortable just playing in URC games and never in Europe or pushing on.
“It looks good from the outside but you think you have more in you.”
The speed point warrants further digging. Tommy O’Brien only made his first European start last April. Injuries elsewhere in the Irish back three have helped O’Brien’s cause, but his profile as a fast straight-line runner – alongside other important skills – has gone a long way to securing his recent status as an Ireland regular.
Rob Russell taking on Ulster's Mike Lowry in Leinster colours. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Previously unmoved eyebrows start rising when Russell talks about his relationship with pace. “When I was there, [Leinster] I would have been the quickest,” says Russell. “I used to be obsessed with stats in the gym, GPS stats, top speeds.
“As soon as I came off the pitch, I’d be checking the stats, trying to beat them every time… It’s probably an ego thing, wanting to have the quickest scores.”
There is a catch. Pushing the body to achieve such numbers has an effect. Was Russell’s obsession ultimately his downfall?
“In the last year, when I was back, I did my hammy after the Emerging tour but when I came back I was hitting records in speed,” explains Russell. “Then I got injured the following week, injuring my other hamstring. I was trying to almost do too much instead of focus on the rugby side.
“There was pressure on the contract side so I was trying to get back quick and impress. It’s probably something I’ve learned now, being a bit older, with injury stuff. Hitting top speeds is nice but it’s not the most important thing when it comes to a game.
“If you’re not playing on weekends because you’re injured, it’s not going to help you in the long run.”
It was a catch-22 for Russell, one which he came out on the wrong side of in his Leinster career. O’Brien, on the other hand, is an example of how things can go right.
“If I was ever going to get picked, that would be the reason why: because I was fast,” says Russell. “I felt like I had to show it every day, but you don’t have to. I overdid it a bit.
“He’s [O’Brien] probably learned what I learned now a bit earlier. He could hit as top a speed as me but he pulled back in the last few years because he was struggling with injuries. It would have been us two as the fastest when I was there.”
Rob Russell at speed. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Russell’s luck hasn’t improved greatly at Gloucester. He picked up a grade two calf tear on the second day of preseason before re-aggravating the problem as soon as he returned to training. It wasn’t until November that he made his debut, coming off the bench in the Prem Cup.
Russell now has three Gloucester appearances to his name, including a first European game off the bench last week at home to Castres. He notched an assist when feeding Charlie Atkinson for a score in the face of pressure from a French defender.
He has signed a ‘one + one’ contract at Kingsholm, meaning there is an option to stay beyond this year. But that is not yet decided. After a difficult start which saw Gloucester lose their first five league games, they have now won three on the spin across both domestic competitions and Europe. Russell is now back fit as well, hoping to play his part in an uptick in form as he looks to figure out his own future beyond this campaign.
“I didn’t get to train much but from watching what I did, I thought we were so much better than what we showed in the first part of the season,” says Russell. “I think it’s just taking a bit of time to bed in, but now there’s definitely a lot of potential there.
“For me, I just want to get as many minutes as I can under my belt. I haven’t ruled out what I’m going to do next year so what can I do to push myself forward, challenge myself, get more minutes, and try to expose myself to as much Prem rugby and European rugby as I can?”
As for this weekend’s opponents, Russell was on the winning side on each of the three occasions he played against Munster during his Leinster years. He could even have played for them at one point, only for a proposed loan move to fall through.
“As soon as I saw the fixtures, that was number one on my list that I wanted to play,” he says. “I know the game is in Cork as well, I haven’t played there so that will be pretty cool.
“I’m desperate to play in that one.”
Rob Russell (middle). Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
After a torrid year of injuries, that desperation likely extends beyond just playing, but also hitting a certain number on the speedometer. The one used for match days, not just training.
“Since I’ve got here I probably haven’t hit my top speed yet just because I’m focused on trying to train well, manage my way through training and not pull up with a hamstring or a calf issue,” says Russell.
“But [I’m] still doing enough that I know when it comes to a game, I can still do it.”
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'I don’t know how much longer I would have been comfortable just playing in URC games and never in Europe'
THE LINK BETWEEN Rob Russell and Louis Rees-Zammit goes beyond their shared position.
Last August, the Welsh wing announced that his NFL sojourn was over. He by no means embarrassed himself, spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs before landing on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. Still, after a year without earning a regular-season appearance, Rees-Zammit came home.
Well, almost. Back to rugby as the day job, but not Gloucester, the club which he originally left to head Stateside.
When it became known that Rees-Zammit wanted to return to rugby, the Cherry and Whites – Munster’s Champions Cup opponents this weekend – flirted with the idea of bringing back a high-profile talent.
Only their squad was full. A few months earlier, they signed Russell after Leinster opted against offering a contract extension to the 26-year-old wing. Gloucester’s backfield was full and their playing budget for the coming season was spent.
Rees-Zammit ultimately joined west country rivals Bristol. “I was like, ‘I wonder if he’s coming here?’” recalls Russell. “Thankfully for me, he’s not!”
When it emerged towards the end of last season that Russell was departing Leinster, a muted external reaction would have been forgiven. The former St Michael’s pupil played 35 times in five years with the province, all of them in the URC. He didn’t make his European debut until Gloucester’s recent win over Castres.
Apart from a 20-minute appearance for Emerging Ireland in 2024, Russell didn’t look like he was on Ireland’s radar either. In the final year of his contract, injuries limited him to just two Leinster games.
“It was a little bit out of my hands,” says Russell of the decision to move on. “I played the first game of the URC, then went on the Emerging Ireland tour. I got injured on that and was basically injured for the whole year. I came back for one game, got 20 minutes and then was injured again.
“It was the toughest year in my career so far, but looking back, it suited me quite well leaving Leinster. I would have loved to stay but I do think I needed a change. I wasn’t playing for Ireland and wasn’t getting many minutes during the season as well. Getting away has really worked out well for me so far.”
Yet this isn’t quite as simple as case as ‘fringe player leaves in search of more game time.’ In the season before his injury woe, Russell scored seven tries in 14 games. The year before, that figure was 10 in 13.
He had a good record for finding the line and, as it turns out, was arguably the fastest runner at Leinster. The last year – a time when Russell was mostly on the treatment table – has seen a growing public debate about Irish rugby’s relationship with pace.
Ireland has moved away from their possession-dominant style to one based more on kicking and broken field opportunities. More runners with pace are needed to exploit these. Bad timing for injured speedsters.
“It could have gone differently had I had a season like that last year. Maybe I’d still be there,” says Russell. “I’m only speculating. Even then, those seasons, they were good for me but now I’m 26, I don’t know how much longer I would have been comfortable just playing in URC games and never in Europe or pushing on.
“It looks good from the outside but you think you have more in you.”
The speed point warrants further digging. Tommy O’Brien only made his first European start last April. Injuries elsewhere in the Irish back three have helped O’Brien’s cause, but his profile as a fast straight-line runner – alongside other important skills – has gone a long way to securing his recent status as an Ireland regular.
Previously unmoved eyebrows start rising when Russell talks about his relationship with pace. “When I was there, [Leinster] I would have been the quickest,” says Russell. “I used to be obsessed with stats in the gym, GPS stats, top speeds.
“As soon as I came off the pitch, I’d be checking the stats, trying to beat them every time… It’s probably an ego thing, wanting to have the quickest scores.”
There is a catch. Pushing the body to achieve such numbers has an effect. Was Russell’s obsession ultimately his downfall?
“In the last year, when I was back, I did my hammy after the Emerging tour but when I came back I was hitting records in speed,” explains Russell. “Then I got injured the following week, injuring my other hamstring. I was trying to almost do too much instead of focus on the rugby side.
“There was pressure on the contract side so I was trying to get back quick and impress. It’s probably something I’ve learned now, being a bit older, with injury stuff. Hitting top speeds is nice but it’s not the most important thing when it comes to a game.
“If you’re not playing on weekends because you’re injured, it’s not going to help you in the long run.”
It was a catch-22 for Russell, one which he came out on the wrong side of in his Leinster career. O’Brien, on the other hand, is an example of how things can go right.
“If I was ever going to get picked, that would be the reason why: because I was fast,” says Russell. “I felt like I had to show it every day, but you don’t have to. I overdid it a bit.
“He’s [O’Brien] probably learned what I learned now a bit earlier. He could hit as top a speed as me but he pulled back in the last few years because he was struggling with injuries. It would have been us two as the fastest when I was there.”
Russell’s luck hasn’t improved greatly at Gloucester. He picked up a grade two calf tear on the second day of preseason before re-aggravating the problem as soon as he returned to training. It wasn’t until November that he made his debut, coming off the bench in the Prem Cup.
Russell now has three Gloucester appearances to his name, including a first European game off the bench last week at home to Castres. He notched an assist when feeding Charlie Atkinson for a score in the face of pressure from a French defender.
He has signed a ‘one + one’ contract at Kingsholm, meaning there is an option to stay beyond this year. But that is not yet decided. After a difficult start which saw Gloucester lose their first five league games, they have now won three on the spin across both domestic competitions and Europe. Russell is now back fit as well, hoping to play his part in an uptick in form as he looks to figure out his own future beyond this campaign.
“I didn’t get to train much but from watching what I did, I thought we were so much better than what we showed in the first part of the season,” says Russell. “I think it’s just taking a bit of time to bed in, but now there’s definitely a lot of potential there.
“For me, I just want to get as many minutes as I can under my belt. I haven’t ruled out what I’m going to do next year so what can I do to push myself forward, challenge myself, get more minutes, and try to expose myself to as much Prem rugby and European rugby as I can?”
As for this weekend’s opponents, Russell was on the winning side on each of the three occasions he played against Munster during his Leinster years. He could even have played for them at one point, only for a proposed loan move to fall through.
“As soon as I saw the fixtures, that was number one on my list that I wanted to play,” he says. “I know the game is in Cork as well, I haven’t played there so that will be pretty cool.
“I’m desperate to play in that one.”
After a torrid year of injuries, that desperation likely extends beyond just playing, but also hitting a certain number on the speedometer. The one used for match days, not just training.
“Since I’ve got here I probably haven’t hit my top speed yet just because I’m focused on trying to train well, manage my way through training and not pull up with a hamstring or a calf issue,” says Russell.
“But [I’m] still doing enough that I know when it comes to a game, I can still do it.”
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