Mackenzie Martin wants to repay the faith shown in him by Wales under-20 coaches by doing his talking on the pitch.
The Cardiff academy forward made his Wales under-20 debut from the bench last week as Byron Hayward’s men kicked off their Six Nations Summer Series campaign with maximum points against Scotland.
Martin once again features amongst the replacements for this afternoon’s clash against Georgia, and he’s eager to make the most of the experience to aid his development.
“For me, heading into the tournament, I was hoping to get some time out there to make an impact - whether that was starting or from the bench,” explained the forward.
“I only found out a few weeks before the camp that I’d be coming out here. To be honest, I’m just grateful to be here, training with the boys and the coaching staff.
“Now I want to repay them for the trust the’ve shown in me by doing my job on the pitch.
“It’s been good to learn from the boys who have been around this environment before, like Christ [Tshiunza], Dafydd [Jenkins], Joe [Hawkins] and Mason Grady.
“They’ve been around these environments and situations before and they’re all pretty sound.
“You can ask questions and everyone are good lads within the group so it’s been enjoyable so far, with loads of learnings.
“It was a really good experience to come off the bench. I know we were up by a few points at that stage so it was all about seeing the game off.
“I’d be happy to come on at any point, to be honest, because I was just grateful to get my cap.
“I had a good half hour under my belt, and hopefully if I get to play again I can just smash someone - that’s all I want to do.
“I did have to sing, as part of the tradition after a first cap, and I sang Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. It’s pretty well known, so all the boys will know it and can join along rather than singing on my own!”
Despite the bonus point win last week, Martin insists there are still work-ons for Wales as they look to maintain their 100 per cent record in the competition.
The Cardiff and Vale College pupil added: “Discipline was pretty good in the first half, but then we started to bring a load of subs on - including myself - and everyone brought a lot of energy and wanted to prove a point.
“It wasn’t a change here and there, there were a lot of changes made at the same time. So we need to hold back a bit on that energy and ensure we stay disciplined, especially in the final 20 minutes.”