Cardiff back row Mackenzie Martin has drawn comparisons to Jonah Lomu throughout his rugby career with his carrying and is hoping his ‘golden ticket’ will see him go all the way in the sport.
Martin, 18, converted from a prop into the back row and can slot into either the number six or eight jersey.
The powerful forward prides himself on having an aggressive edge to his game and with his 18 stone 7lbs and 6 ft 4in frame he looks up to All Blacks legend Lomu and Wales international Taulupe Faletau.
Martin said: “Jonah Lomu because when I was young that’s what they used to call me and I loved the way he carried the ball, so he’s one of my idols. I would say my skill that sets me apart from the rest is my size and strength, mixed with my ball carrying.
That’s my golden ticket, the way I carry the ball from when I was younger, I always got called Jonah Lomu, so that’s my main go to. If someone’s going to pick a team and they want ball carriers I’d want them to be looking at me.
“Faletau is one of the best in the world in my position and the first black person I ever saw play for Wales and that provided an inspiration for someone like me who’s mixed race.”
Martin enjoyed a standout campaign last season as he was influential in Cardiff and Vale College’s title win earlier this year and represented the Rags in their Welsh Premiership winning campaign.
He said: “It was a weird season for me because I was back and forth between Cardiff RFC, Wales U20s, Cardiff and Vale College and Rags.
“Cardiff and Vale College had never won the title before, so that was special. There were a couple players from the Cardiff academy, so the whole college experience was so enjoyable and probably the most fun I’ve ever had because everything was clicking for us. We were bonding as a team but in terms of personal accolades, I had a pretty good campaign with the college, and I know in the 10 games I played I had over 110 carries and scored five tries.
“The Rags story was sort of vengeance after we hadn’t done very well in the Cup but that provided the fire in our belly to win the Premiership, with three straight wins at the end of the season against tough opposition.”
Martin finished his season by achieving international honours as he represented Wales U20s in the Summer Series attaining four caps.
After a disappointing fifth place finish in the U20s Six Nations, Wales finished second in the eight-team summer tournament and Martin says that illustrates the resilient character of the team.
He said: “It’s outstanding. When things are going bad, everyone seems to get on to us but that gives us more fuel. The mood around the camp was to come into the Summer Series and do a job and that’s exactly what we did. We worked hard in training camp and made sure we were fit and fast enough and we were ready.”
