Mackenzie Martin was proud of his side’s fighting spirit, as a Wales U20 Development XV bounced back from a half-time deficit to claim victory over Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday.

Having made his debut at this level during the summer, the Cardiff Rugby academy product was named captain for the encounter in the capital, which was organised in preparation for the Six Nations, which will kick off in the new year.

Scotland held a 17-5 lead at the interval, but hosts Wales scored 21 unanswered points to complete a stunning comeback.

Martin, who has featured regularly for the Rags in the Indigo Group Premiership this season, was joined in the squad by Blue and Blacks team-mate – and fellow CAVC alumni – Harrison James.

The utility forward said: “It’s different experience because I was looking up to the senior boys in the summer and now the younger ones are looking up to me so it’s a bit of a different situation. You have got to be more mature and take charge I suppose.

“The boys showed great character to come back after being down at half time. We showed determination and character to bring it back. There were a few discipline errors in the first half but we fixed that up in the second half and came away with the win.

“The game was 100 percent a worthwhile exercise. We had a good training week and came flying into the game.

“The effort was there for the whole week, and everyone gave it 100 per cent and more.”

“It was an excellent exercise for us,” said Wales U20s head coach Byron Hayward.

“A lot of players put their hands up without a doubt, they surprised a lot of us. There were some really good performances, especially in the second half.

“We’ve only had three days training together so it’s understandable if there were a few mistakes. But we’ll focus on the positives – we scored a couple of nice tries.

“We’ve got quite a few boys to come back into this group so we’re in a good place. It’s a well done to the lads and congratulations on the back of three days preparation and the way the weather has been two days was in doors. They gave a bit of credit to the jersey and they showed a lot of character to fight back in the second half to get the win.”