Mason Grady hopes his Test debut will lead to bigger things after his dream of becoming a Welsh international became a reality last month.
The Cardiff star couldn’t have chosen a bigger stage to win his first Wales cap, starting in the centre for the Guinness Six Nations tussle against England at Principality Stadium.
The academy graduate impressed on debut as he followed in the footsteps of brother, Cory Allen, in appearing in the Test arena.
Grady admits it was a surreal experience to pull on the famous red jersey in front of a full house at the national stadium, but insists he wants to keep improving his game and claim further honours in the future.
“It was pretty surreal to be honest. I was obviously really disappointed with the result but I was really proud to get my first cap,” said the former Ysgol Bro Morgannwg pupil.
“It was an unbelievable experience to run out in front of 70,000 people.
“It was a dream come true to be honest. Growing up watching Wales against England, it’s probably the biggest game, especially for a Welshman.
“To be able to experience that was just amazing and I’d love to experience it all again.
“I just want to go up from here. I’ve won my first cap but I want more and more and hopefully I can win a few more caps.
“I’m just focusing on training and trying to better myself. I obviously hope I’ll get another chance, but it is what it is for now.
“Coming into camp and seeing how the boys train, how intense they train and how much they do off the field in terms of analysis and stuff, it has made me realise what I need to do better in order to keep improving my game.
“I’m just going to take it one game at a time now and not get too far ahead of myself.”
A tweet from Grady’s mother went viral after the match – with two photos, taken 10 years apart, showing Mason and Julie alongside Wales head coach Warren Gatland in post-match functions.
Grady admits it’s hard to believe that some of his boyhood heroes have now become his international team-mates.
The centre explains: “It feels like yesterday when that picture was taken, when I was watching my brother making his Wales debut. It was pretty mad to see those pictures again from 10 years ago.
“The family are immensely proud. I had about 15 family members at the stadium in total.
“To have them there watching me win my first cap was amazing.
“It’s great to be able to learn from the likes of George and Dan Biggar. I have grown up watching those boys and I remember playing the 2011 Rugby World Cup video game with all those players on there. So it’s pretty mad to be learning from those boys now.
“George is definitely someone I’ve looked up to, so to learn from him and the things that he does on the field is amazing.
“He’s a very good role model for me, and has been very helpful. He’s been telling me the little things that can make me better and taken me to the side to work on things.
“Talking about the advice he receives from brother Cory, Grady adds: “He didn’t talk too much about the experience, but just told me to go out there, enjoy it, impose my game on them and back myself.
“I had his full support on the day.
“There was a lot more pressure, less time on the ball and less time to make decision in defence as well.
“It was very different to what I’ve experienced at club level, but I thought that I dealt with it pretty well.”
There were plenty of familiar faces for Grady in the matchday 23 at Principality Stadium.
As well as five of his Blue and Blacks team-mates, the centre lined up alongside Christ Tshiunza, Dafydd Jenkins and midfield partner Joe Hawkins – a quartet that represented Wales at last summer’s U20 Six Nations Summer Series.
Having also featured alongside Tshiunza in Cardiff’s pathway system, Grady says playing alongside his age grade team-mates has made the experience extra special: “Me and Joe know how each other like to play so I put all my trust in him.
“I just let him do his thing, and he lets me do mine. Like I say, we know each other’s game pretty well and I do really enjoy playing alongside him.
“I had sat down with Joe, Christ and Daf and we said how amazing it would be to play at the next World Cup, so to play together in the Six Nations before that is pretty mad.
“I couldn’t have imagined it coming so soon, I didn’t expect it at all to be honest. I just wanted to get myself into the Cardiff team to be honest.
“To be able to get a cap alongside those boys feels amazing.”
