Here is more information about os Lobos No 7, Martins
Portugal keeps surprising the Rugby World Cup fans and between the elusive Raffaele Storti, the captain Tomás Appleton, or the fan-favorite, Nuno Sousa Guedes. But what about Nicolás Martins, the loose forward who hasn’t missed one tackle in two games?
Let’s find out more about the flanker who scored Portugal’s first try in the 2023 RWC!
Ten things you should know about Nicolás Martins
1. He is the son of José Martins and Patricia Holfelt and qualifies as a Portuguese-French international. He was born in Toulouse on the 18th of January 1999.
2. Martins started playing rugby at the age of seven, thanks to his cousin, with both enlisting at Colomiers. Judo and basketball were his two other sports while growing up, but rugby was his true passion.
3. As a youth player, he was tested at the wing but quickly settled as a flanker and lock thanks to his height and strong build.
4. He has two younger brothers, and both also play rugby. One is rocking at the wing for Blagnac (Nationale) while the youngest of the Martins family is still a junior for Tournefeuille, whom Nicolás Martins also represented.
5. His rugby idols are Thierry Dusautoir and Richie McCaw, both loose forwards whome he views as the best ever to play the game.
6. From 2017 to 2022, he studied Aeronautic engineering under the Airbus wing, while playing for Tournefeuille and Castanet. He would end up giving it all up to become a pro rugby player.
7. His first cap for Portugal was just one year ago, in 2022, playing the last ten minutes in a Summer International against Georgia in Tbilisi.
8. He was the hero for SA XV Charente when in the dying minutes of their final match in the ProD2 2022-2023 season he scored a try, picking up a losing bonus point that saved them from relegation to the Nationale.
9. In the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship, he didn’t miss a single tackle out of 54 and was the only player with a 100% accuracy rate. He was also one of the top poachers, completing five turnovers.
10. He was swept up in the emotion of singing the national anthem in front of 30,000 people in Nice, for Portugal’s first match in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He said: “I’m not a stressed man before and during the anthem, but it was something different. It was exciting.”
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