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Christian Scotland-Williamson has some simple advice for new Kansas City Chief Louis Rees-Zammit – learn fast and watch out for the weight room.

Former Wales wing Rees-Zammit, 23, will join the double Super Bowl champion Chiefs practice squad as he attempts to become only the sixth player from the International Player Pathway Programme to make an active NFL roster.

In a brutal sport on and off the field - less than two per cent of college players make it to the NFL - Scotland-Williamson revealed the harsh realities of the daily grind after he too left rugby behind to chase his American dream.

Frustrated by a lack of opportunities at Worcester Warriors, footage of a Scotland-Williamson tackle against Wasps went viral and came to the attention of NFL scouts.

In 2018, Scotland-Williamson joined the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad for two seasons on the IPPP as the 6ft 9in second row became a tight end at the age of 24.

‘Coach Mike Tomlin said to me: “I don't care where you come from - if you can help us win, you’ll play”. That wasn't something that I had never experienced in rugby,’ Scotland-Williamson says.

‘But the whole first year was really tough. Getting cussed out every single day because you were making mistakes. You feel like can't put one foot in front the other and you are really having to put a significant amount of work in just to change the mindset and to have people believe that you could potentially do it, whereas initially it was just like: “Why have I come out here?”’

While Scotland-Williamson departed England with a degree in economics and a masters in business, neither could prepare him for the complexities of Pittsburgh’s playbook – a vast tome featuring hundreds of offensive and defensive plays, each with their own complex verbiage and intricate diagrams.

‘The quicker you can learn the game, the faster you can play,’ he says. ‘In year one, I didn't know what was going on. I had never been in a huddle before. I had never heard a play call. Even guys from college going into the NFL struggle to pick up the playbook. Full stop.

‘So I saw that as an opportunity. That was my point of advantage. If I can make less system errors from knowing the playbook inside and out, then that will earn the trust of my coach to put me in. He will know: “He knows where to be and what to do”.

‘You have to get to the point where you're not thinking about the small details - you know where to line up, you're not trying to digest a 10-word play call, which sounds like verbal hieroglyphics - it’s like learning a new language.

‘That then allows you to be the athlete. That's the reason why you're on the programme, which is why you're there. But until you understand the game, you can't show it. The average play in the NFL is less than four seconds. And if you're thinking for one of those seconds, you've lost a quarter of your time to even do anything and you're not going to be effective.’

When it did sink in, it became a significant advantage for Scotland-Williamson.

‘The jump from year one to year two for me, where I was really impressing was because I knew the game. As soon as the play call comes in, you break the huddle and you're not trying to figure out: “Do I go to the right or do I go to the left? Where am I lining up?” You're not thinking about that because that's already ingrained.

‘And then the next thing you're able to focus on is: “OK, what's the defence doing during pre-snap? What's their coverage going to roll to post-snap, which might affect the route that I have to run? Or if I'm trying to block an edge rusher, what's their leverage? What's their technique? How am I going to approach jump setting them?”

‘And then just the finer details that allow you to compete at that level. The reason why the highest form of football is the NFL is because of those finer margins. Until you can get the basics down where you're not having to think about: “Do I step with

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