Cardiff rugby’s young stars must avoid second-season ‘roadblock’

“That’s the challenge. If you look at the likes of Mackenzie Martin, Alex Mann and Cam Winnett, they’ve been thrust into international rugby,” said Sherratt.

“I couldn’t be more pleased that they have, but we’ve got to temper that with the fact they’re young players who are still developing.

“I watched Mackenzie play for [semi-professional] Cardiff against Newport last September. Nine months later, he’s playing against the world number one team Ireland and touring Australia.

“Their climb has been massive. For them, it’s realising that rugby, like any job, isn’t a straight line to success. They’re going to have bumps and injuries along the way and they’ll have non-selections because there’s competition for places.

“We’ll see their resilience this second season, when there’s more expectation on them – not from me, but from themselves. It’s how they react when there’s a bump in the road, which is inevitable as it’s a bumpy career path.”