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Louis Rees-Zammit says he picked the brains of Leigh Halfpenny before his impressive Test match switch to full-back against Argentina.
The Gloucester wing had hardly played at 15 in more than 80 appearances for club, country and the British and Irish Lions.
With Wales’ Halfpenny and Liam Williams injured, Rees-Zammit stepped in.
“I needed to know everything and he [Halfpenny] is the man to ask. He gave me massive confidence,” he said.
The 21-year-old took to the full-back role effectively in Wales’ 20-13 Autumn Nations Series victory over Argentina.
“All week, Leigh and I sat at the computers doing loads of analysis,” added Rees-Zammit.
“The difference is in the back-field. You are constantly there, and with the kicking into the 22 rule now, you can’t afford to let the opposition in your half.
“I was aware of Argentina’s threats and of getting myself into position quickly so they weren’t going to be allowed opportunities.
“There is a lot of kicking these days, so there are kick battles which you have to stay in. But when the opportunity does come, my eyes light up.
“Against a team like Argentina they don’t give you that much space, so you have to try and play a bit of ping-pong with them and see who crumbles first.”
Halfpenny could be in contention to face Georgia next weekend after being sidelined by a hamstring problem, so whether Rees-Zammit stays at full-back remains to be seen.
But he underlined his world-class quality and gave Wales head coach Wayne Pivac another option as the World Cup countdown continues.
“I can play there [full-back], and I will play there if needed,” Rees-Zammit added.
“We were short on full-backs so I said I would play there if required.
“I back myself, especially when I’ve got players like Leigh and others who have massive experience to help me.”
Rees-Zammit’s contribution provided an important factor in helping Wales bounce back from a 55-23 hammering against New Zealand seven days earlier.
“We had massive heat on us. I thought the boys stood up well and really put in a defensive performance that we can be proud of,” he said.
“They were in our 22 a lot, and we went long phases where we stuck in there and we managed to win the ball back a fair few times.
“Our physicality just wasn’t good enough against New Zealand, and we had to put that right.”
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