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The 22-year-old is understood to have signed a three-year deal in France after falling out of favour
Wales international Mackenzie Martin is understood to have signed a deal with French club Beziers for next season.
An announcement by the Pro D2 side is expected in the coming weeks over the signature of the four-cap No. 8. The move to France’s second tier would seemingly put his Test career on hold.
WalesOnline reported back in January that a deal was close but nothing had been signed at that time.
However, it’s now understood that a three-year deal in France has been penned.
The suggestion is there were no offers on the table from Welsh clubs for Martin – which could potentially keep him eligible for Test duty despite being short of the 25-caps required.
Other players in recent years have managed to argue they could remain eligible to play for Wales despite seemingly being captured by the 25-cap rule, because of the lack of a competitive offer in Wales.
Martin is currently on loan at the Dragons from Cardiff, having broken through at the Arms Park during the 2023/24 season.
The 22-year-old was capped by Warren Gatland in the 2024 Six Nations, mere months after he was playing rugby for Cardiff RFC in Super Rygbi Cymru.
A summer tour of Australia followed that summer, but that was Martin’s last call-up by Wales following a frustrating second season at Cardiff.
Minutes for the Dragons have been hard to come by this season, with Martin playing just four times for the Men of Gwent.
With Cardiff having some injury concerns in the pack in recent months, the Blue and Blacks had looked at bringing Martin back for the latter part of the season.
However, that has not as yet materialised.
Martin is believed to be keen on a change of scenery, as he prepares to spend three years in France.
His new club, Beziers, have been locked in a relegation battle this season.
Victory over Carcassonne last Friday ensured they would not finish last and be immediately relegated to France’s third tier, with their opponents instead consigned to finish at the bottom of Pro D2.
However, there is still a chance they could finish 15th in the league, which would result in a promotion/relegation play-off against the losing finalist of the Nationale’s promotion play-offs.
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