Rees-Zammit is someone the game’s organisers know they need. He has more Instagram followers than the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and his social media influencer girlfriend Drew Knotts will join him back in Cardiff.
That includes an out-of-sorts Wales, with the national side having played 18 Tests since he left and losing all bar one.
There was no consideration of a move to a Welsh region, but he has held talks with new Wales head coach Steve Tandy and his staff as he eyes an autumn international return.
But Rees-Zammit says performing for Bristol is a priority, adding he even missed tackling during his time on the offence of the Chiefs and the Jaguars.
He will not have played truly competitive sport in 20 months by the time the season starts, but said he has been reacquainting himself with a rugby ball over the past two months and did not feel “rusty”.
“The skill isn’t really the issue, it’s just about being match fit,” he said. “There’s a lot more conditioning in rugby – in NFL it’s more anaerobic fitness, being able to do repeated sprints, not so much long-distance stuff because the [time of the] ball in play here is very high.”
As is his speed, claiming he still clocked 23mph despite putting on an extra 10kg.
He will also have to carry the weight of expectation as one of the game’s true superstars returns with no regrets but plenty of eyes on his progress.
