The Cristiano Ronaldo Influence: Wales Rugby Star Emulates Al Nassr Forward's Celebration

• Cristiano Ronaldo's influence continues to transcend football
• Several sports stars have, on occasion, emulated the Portuguese forward' famous celebration
• A Rugby World Cup star becomes the latest to replicate Ronaldo's celebration

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit becomes the latest sports star to pay tribute to Al-Nassr captain and five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Dragons wingman was instrumental in ensuring Warren Gatland's side secured a much-needed victory in their second Rugby World Cup tie against Portugal.

The Gloucester star opened the scoring in the highly contested physical battle with a try as the Welsh coasted to a relatively unimpressive 28-8 victory in their second pool C clash.

While the Dragons made the headlines for securing a much-needed victory, the 22-year-old wing stole the show for his celebration which many dubbed was intended to taunt the Portuguese team.

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However, the Welsh Wing has outlined his reason for celebrating like the Portuguese star.

Rees-Zammit speaks on his Ronaldo celebration

The Gloucester star revealed he was a massive fan of the football icon.

"Ronaldo is my favourite player," said Rees-Zammit as reported by BBC.

"I wear his boxers and I dress like him. And I thought why not do his celebration as well."

The Welsh man further admitted that his celebration was pre-planned.

"A few of my mates back home wanted me to do it.

"They're massive football fans and obviously we don't play Portugal very often. So I said if I scored, I'd do it for them.

"I saw there was no-one in backfield and I put a grubber through and thankfully I got the bounce."

Wales who secured maximum points in their opening two fixtures against Fiji and Portugal, will now shift attention to the game against Australia, which appears their toughest challenge yet.

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The Dragons will eventually wrap up their group series with a meeting with Georgia, as reported by Sky Sports.

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