His club, Cardiff Rugby, are delighted with his progress and awarded the home-grown 20-year-old his first senior contract in January and have played him 10 times this season.
Warren Gatland took a punt on the 6’ 5” tall, 18st 4lb back rower in his Six Nations squad and gave him a debut off the bench in the defeat in Dublin against the Irish.
The other metric is how the people of Ely, where he was born and raised, are reacting to his dramatic rise as a professional sportsman. It is not an area usually associated international rugby players but ‘Big Mac’s’ rise has already struck a chord within his community.
There are young lads now sporting what is being described as the ‘Big Mac Mullet’ – some of them looking even sharper than he does!
“It has been pretty crazy. I started the season with Cardiff RFC and then luckily Matt Sherratt gave me the chance to play for Cardiff Rugby,” said Martin.
‘Big Mac’ thundering into the Scarlets
“I took the opportunity, and that’s exactly what I want to do here with Wales. I haven’t really thought about the whole season, I’ve just worried about the next training session or the next day.
“I’ve tried not to get too far ahead or to think too much about the past. I hope I can be a trailblazer and I hope the kids are going to look up to me.
“When I went down to Ely the other week, even before I made my Wales debut, there were a good few kids copying my hair cut. They came up to me and were saying ‘I’ve got the same hair as you’ and that type of thing. All theirs looked better than mine, so I was a bit jealous.”
The ‘Big Mac Mullet’ on display in Wales training
Martin is one of the many new kids on the block in the Welsh squad and a potential central figure to the new pack Gatland hopes to build for the not-too-distant future. He has all the physical attributes, and also possesses one of the main ingredients demanded by his international boss, a strong work ethic.
“I’m rough around the edges, but I’m definitely hard-working. Growing up, it obviously wasn’t the easiest as anybody can imagine,” confessed Martin.
“But my family has always been great, and I’ve learned from them. I was always going to work hard because I think my dad’s the hardest worker I know. My brothers and my dad really let me know that it doesn’t matter where I come from, I could still make something of myself.
“My dad (Stuart) is actually retired now – he’s got arthritis in his back. He’s done loads of jobs, but he’s always put food on the table.
“He’s worked in warehouses, he has delivered milk, he’s done loads of things. He had a little business at one time, so he has always been on the go.
“He’d get up every day at 5 o ‘clock, 5 o ‘clock or 6 o ‘clock and go to work every day without fail, even when he didn’t want to. No matter if he was hurting, no matter how tired he was, he would still get up and go.”
No wonder there was so much jubilation in the Martin household when he came off the bench in the 54th minute at the Aviva Stadium to replace his Cardiff clubmate Alex Mann to win his first cap.
“It was probably the biggest moment of my life so far. It’s just crazy really and it hasn’t sunk in yet,” added Martin.
“I think my family felt it more than me because I was so in the moment. It was just another game, if that makes sense.
“I was just so fixated and concentrated on the game and trying to win. When I came off the pitch, they were all crying – you know what it’s like.”
The dream now for Martin is get his first start for Wales. There are two games to go, both at home, against France and Italy.
Running on to win his first cap against Ireland in Dublin
“When they think I’m ready, I’m sure they’ll put me in. But until then I’ll keep working hard until I’m blessed with an opportunity to do so.
“I’m not riding on getting picked, I don’t want to say in my mind I’m going to get picked. I would rather just worry about today’s training and then worry about tomorrow’s training. God bless, I do get a chance. If I don’t, then I’m sure there’ll be something I need to work on.”
It is a remarkable turn of events for the player who wasn’t even sure a year ago if Cardiff were going to offer him a contract. He was determined to have a good Six Nations tournament with Wales U20 and obviously made his mark.
“I was playing for Cardiff RFC last year just before the Wales U20 matches and that was the moment I thought my career could go either way. Cardiff weren’t sure if they were going to give me a contract,” he admitted.
“Wales wasn’t really in my mind this season, it was just the next game, the next training session. That’s the way it has always been with me.
“To be honest, I didn’t have a Plan B if I hadn’t been offered a contract. I backed myself to get one and luckily, I did.
“I knew I had to have a really good Six Nations tournament (U20) and I started a few of those games, gave it my best shot and in got there in the end. If rugby hadn’t worked out, then I’m sure I’d be working hard at something else.”
But underpinning everything he does is not only the strong work ethic imprinted in him by his father, but his Christian faith.
“For me, it’s massively important. Kids growing up, they need something to put their effort into, especially from where I’m from,” said Martin.
“Mine was rugby, but whether it’s football or whether it’s working, they all need something to put their mind and their efforts into.
“Rugby put me on the right path, but it was God that helped me do that. God put that opportunity into my life.
“So, that’s how strong my faith is and that’s why I always say, ‘all glory to God’. That’s because I wouldn’t have had the opportunities without him.”
