Wales and Bristol back Louis Rees-Zammit said he will be a winger who can play full-back this season for club and country, after spending much of the last campaign in the number 15 shirt.

Rees-Zammit returned to rugby last summer after almost two years away, as he tried to carve out a career in the NFL, and under Bristol boss Pat Lam and Wales head coach Steve Tandy was deployed at full-back consistently from the autumn, rather than his former position on the right wing.

The 25-year-old said he knew last season would likely not be his “best” campaign, after a long period away, and that learning a new position added to the challenge.

“I’m going to be a winger but with the ability to play full-back,” he told Rugby Union Weekly.

“I played three-quarters of the season at full-back which I’d never really done before without playing for two years.

“It was hard to settle in but I know that I’ve played wing for however many years previous, so that’s going to help me keep my feet on the ground.”

Of the 22 games Rees-Zammit started last season for club and country, 10 were at 14 while 12 were at 15.

He scored nine tries (seven for Bristol, two for Wales) but only one during 2026 after making the switch – away at Northampton in May when he was back on the wing. In fact, six of the nine tries were scored while playing on the wing.

“I still enjoyed it, I just feel like at 15 you’re not as much of a finisher than you are on the wing and that’s what I like to be known as,” he added.

“Previously I was scoring a lot of tries and I was a good finisher – I’d like to be on the end of that.”

Rees-Zammit comes into 2026-27 having had a full summer to prepare although he missed the first block of training with Bristol after spending July with Wales for the Nations’ Championship.

The Bears, who have never reached the Prem final, finished sixth in the table last season, missing out on the play-offs by nine points after a drop in form during the spring.

However they finished with 11 wins – the same number as Exeter who were third and reached the final where they lost to Northampton.

“Last year ultimately we fell short of our goal,” Rees-Zammit said.

“Although we won the same amount as [third] place, we didn’t score enough tries, we didn’t have enough bonus points and that’s something we’re going to try and work on and try and fix for this season.”