Young star Max Malins relishing his time in the Saracens first team
England's Max Malins sprints to score a try during the U20 6 Nations match against France. Picture: BEN BIRCHALL/PA WIRE - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Saracens’ rising star Max Malins is relishing his fast-track development into the senior side after another appearance in the 29-18 win over Sale Sharks.
The young academy fly-half made his Premiership debut in the loss to Worcester earlier this month and has featured on the bench since.
However, he insists he is just taking his chances as they come.
“It’s nice to get a few minutes with the first team every now and again,” he told the Ham & High.
“It’s given me a good step up from the junior level but there are lots of things to work on and keep on improving.”
Malins’ recent performances in the Anglo-Welsh Cup – most notably his assured display against Scarlets – and with England U20s has seen him rewarded by Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall for his efforts.
He said: “It was really good for me to get that experience with the Sarries first team and to give the coaches the confidence that I can play with Sarries.
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“I was injured early on so didn’t get to play the early LV games but got to play the Scarlets game and obviously in the U20s which went really well.”
The 19-year-old’s inclusion within the senior squad has come at a time when Saracens have lost two consecutive games for the first time since 2015, but he admits it hasn’t affected the mood in the camp.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the last two weeks,” he said. “It’s not easy when you’ve got two losses on the bounce but we’ve kept it positive.
“We’ve really gone back to our culture and talked about energy a lot and how we get our energy through our players and through our culture – we’ve just gone back to basics to get our performances.
“[Against Sale] we put a big emphasis on our performance and we knew the outcome would come with it and I thought the performance was really good as was the outcome. So I’m really pleased.”
The youngster from Saffron Walden is among several players who have extended their contracts at the club, with Malins progressing into Sarries’ senior academy.
And he said it was an easy decision to sign.
He said: “It’s the whole culture. Everyone buys in here and it’s so welcoming – it’s like a family and a community where they really care about their players.”
“[You’re] well looked after, not just with the rugby but outside with the education and it’s really drawn me to it.”
