Find out more about the versatile England player who is comfortable at fly-half and full-back
Who is Max Malins: Ten things you should know about the England full-back
Max Malins, whose versatility means he can play at full-back and fly-half, made his debut for England in 2020 in an Autumn Nations Cup match against Georgia.
The 2021 Six Nations match against France marks his first Test start – at No 15 – and you can find out more about the England star here.
Ten things you should know about Max Malins
1. Max Malins was born on 7 January 1997 in Cambridge. He stands at 5ft 11in (1.8m) and weighs 13st 3lb (84kg).
2. He joined Bristol Bears on loan from Saracens in the summer of 2020 following confirmation of Sarries’ relegation to the Championship.
He first played rugby for Saffron Walden, aged around six, and then moved on to Bishop’s Stortford, where he played until U17 level.
3. He was scouted for Saracens while he was still at school. He attended Felsted School where he reached the NatWest Schools U18 Vase and caught the eye of the club.
He told Rugby World in 2016: “Matt Davies from the club saw me in a school game for Felsted, and I joined their junior academy at 17.
“Andrew Le Chevalier at Felsted really backed me, and Ian Vass, my mentor at Sarries – he’d try to get to my school every week to work on my kicking and skills.”
4. Malins admires Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi. He has previously said he streams the club’s games just so he can watch the star play.
He told the Daily Mail: “His vision… Before he even receives the ball, he’s looking everywhere. He already knows where the defence is and where he wants to play his next pass.”
5. Malins has studied for a business and finance degree at the University of Hertfordshire.
Max Malins compared to Beauden Barrett
6. He has been dubbed ‘England’s Beauden Barrett’ by many rugby pundits and Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall.
“Max Malins at full-back just looked like a great player,” said McCall in 2019. “He reminds me a little bit of a young Beauden Barrett who wanted to be a fly-half but played 15 in his early years for the Hurricanes and the All Blacks.”
Related: How to vary kick-offs – tips from Max Malins
7. He lives in Clifton, Bristol, and shares a flat with England team-mate Ben Earl, who is also on loan at the Bears from Saracens.
8. Malins has wanted to be a professional sportsman since he was a child. He told the Daily Mail that he would spend “a lot of time in the garden pretending to be Jonny Wilkinson or Rafael Nadal”.
9. He represented England at U18 and U20 level. He was a part of the team that won the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship and he scored a try in England’s semi-final against South Africa.
10. He was extremely nervous when he met his childhood hero Jonny Wilkinson, telling PA in 2021: “I had a group session with Jonny a few years back and met him on a couple of camps. The first time, I was curled up into a little ball, a nervous wreck!
“It’s still very surreal that he is in and around these camps when he was someone I looked up to and wanted to be as a young boy.”
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