Louis Rees-Zammit lifts lid on bust-up after getting unexpected surprise

Bristol Bears wing Louis Rees-Zammit has shed light on the incident that occurred when he had a heated exchange with a Gloucester player as he left the pitch. The video of his fiery return to Kingsholm has been widely circulated on social media and now the Welshman has provided some clarity on the situation.

The altercation took place during the PREM Rugby Cup match between the two teams last weekend, where the Bears emerged victorious. After being provoked by the Gloucester players throughout the game, tensions eventually boiled over. The score stood at 26-5 in favour of the Bears, with Harry Randall preparing for a box kick when the drama unfolded.

Play was halted as Rees-Zammit and Tom Jordan found themselves in separate scuffles with Gloucester players. Rees-Zammit, the Welshman, could be seen grappling with young Caio James on the ground as other players rushed to the scene, creating a chaotic spectacle.

After both were shown yellow cards for their involvement in the brawl, they left the field and continued their confrontation verbally. A heated exchange ensued, with the players squaring up as they walked.

As Rees-Zammit continued to leave the field, James' teammate gave him a shove in the shoulder, to which the Wales wing responded with laughter and a dismissive brush of his shoulder.

Rees-Zammit, who is a former Jacksonville Jaguars player, appeared as a guest on with Jim Hamilton, Andy Goode and Welsh rugby legend Dan Biggar. He was promptly asked about this viral incident.

Ex-Scotland lock Hamilton began by asking if he knew James, to which Rees-Zammit denied, before adding: "The reason why I was talking to him after, when we were walking off, is because I heard his Welsh accent!"

"Before that, I didn't know he was Welsh. So, that's when I heard his accent and I was like: 'Oh yeah! Okay!'" Watch Rees-Zammit's eventful return to rugby union below, which includes the exchange with young James.

Former England international Goode questioned Rees-Zammit about his muscle gain, and jokingly asked him whether he had taken off his shoulder pads from the weekend yet. "They got ripped off by that kid," joked Rees-Zammit.

"I love it, 'that kid', Zam is about 18 years of age and he's calling some other lad 'some kid'," responded Goode. James, 19, has been on the books at Gloucester for a few years, and was captain of the U18s side.

James is a student at Hartpury College and hails from Llandysul in Ceredigion. As under-18s skipper, the west Wales flanker was influential in their finals day against Newcastle Falcons (now Red Bulls) with an impressive four tries on the day.

Speaking about his return to face his former club, Rees-Zammit touched on the hostility at Kingsholm. "There were a lot of boos on Friday night, put it that way," he said.

"And I was getting a lot of hate from The Shed. But it's all part of the game. Yeah, I had an amazing night. I think because I started that game, I obviously came off the bench and against Sale (Sharks), but to start that Gloucester game, it just felt really good and felt like I was really getting back into rugby.

"I had a couple of decent clips and a lot of stuff to work on as well, but there's always going to be a little bit of rust if I'm not playing for 18 months."

Alongside everything else that unfolded, Rees-Zammit fumbled an opportunity directly in front of the try line, and this incident was greeted with a boisterous response from the Gloucester supporters.

The Wales star revealed what it was like to endure that moment right before the passionate home faithful. "Obviously the other one (dropped ball), that was really embarrassing," said Rees-Zammit. "That's not like me to normally do that. I was pretty embarrassed when I did drop it. And I heard The Shed going: 'Eeyore, Eeyore!' I was just like, why did I have to do that!?"

Rees-Zammit will receive an opportunity to make his Bears league debut in the PREM this weekend. The West Country side are facing Leicester Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Ashton Gate.