by It doesn’t seem right that George Martin, who is 6ft 6in and 18 and a half stone, is getting around these days by folding himself into a Volkswagen Up! The exclamation point in the name of the car almost emphasizes the humor of Martin defying physics in order to simply get behind the wheel. We’re talking about someone who now has extra-long clubs specially made by Ping as a self-confessed “fair-weather” golfer so he doesn’t have to fend for himself to play a shot.
“Chess [Ollie Chessum] he always takes the macc out of me and says it’s like Mr Incredible climbing into a car,” explains Martin, with a grin across his face, of a vehicle small enough for Martin to bench press, not driving. After 12 years and over 100,000 miles on the clock, everyone should be relieved to hear Martin say that the Up! definitely rocking, “hopefully I’ve got something sorted out soon”.
England are grateful to have Martin back in the mix. He returned from the bench at Murrayfield and apart from one uncharacteristic fallout from the restart – although that piqued England’s league of error – looked typically lively and formidable.
When Martin left after 53 minutes in the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa after injuring his medial collateral ligament, England were severely weakened. The highlight was a monster attack with Ben Earl to pressure Franco Mostert but he was a threat in what was a career highlight so far for a young player who was first completed as a teenager under Eddie Jones back in 2020 only after that. a handful of games for Leicester Tigers.
Martin is now 22, has won 11 caps and is set to pick up many more as he, by the sounds of it, tries to keep a low profile and keep a tightrope. Recent injury spells have been spent on improving his broken work – “wreaking havoc” – and “getting my hands on the ball more … how can I be more efficient and more abrasive in touch”. Richard Hill, who knows a bit about what makes an elite forward, recently described Martin as a good, old-fashioned Leicester forward in the mold of Richards, Johnson, Kay, Deacon, Back, Corry et al. “A little hard. Just do my job. Work for the team. That’s it,” says Martin.
Because of his age Martin is too young to remember watching Johnson, his early memories of Leicester focused on Manu Tuilagi and Logovi’i Mulipola put people on edge at Welford Road. When Martin reached the age of 16 and started being picked early for age group sides, it became clear that he might one day be running out for the famous club at that famous ground.
It’s a great bonus to be able to do that with the Leicester and England team, and good friends in Chessum and Freddie Steward. Before his latest injury, Leicester had started playing Chessum and Martin together in the second tier, a goal that the two had set for some time. Martin’s weight gain in recent years, adding around a stone, means he is now very green – he hasn’t started on the sidelines since late 2022.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he says of the second tier partnership. “We’ve both been with each other for a long time. We have always wanted to play in the league together and we hope that we can play in the league for many years to come. It would be good. He’s a great boy and I have a lot of time for him.”
And Steward, friends and team-mates since they were teenagers, had a moment walking back from training at England’s Rugby World Cup training base in Le Touquet where the significance of what they had achieved so far at home was felt.
“It’s amazing. I remember me and Fred having a nice moment where we couldn’t believe we were here. It’s just mental. We were thinking we’ve been together since we were 14 and grown up together and now we’re at the World Cup, you’re just like, wow.”
This week it looks like rugby is learning to love its physical edge again, based on soundbites from those in power and behind the marketing departments. Martin fits the mold when he says that “the best part is the physicality of the game”.
Playing alongside the likes of Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese at Leicester under Steve Borthwick, young Martin was taught to “accept reality and enjoy it”, relishing that semi-final against the Springboks despite England losing to point. “It’s the games, the physical games, the proper Test games where it’s so physical, it’s just man to man, and he’s class.”
Off the pitch, Martin seems content to keep his hood up and walk around Abbey Park in Leicester without too much attention. On the field, he will be a threat to England for years to come. Get him a new car for someone’s sake.
