The history graduate, currently finishing his dissertation for a Masters, won 53 BUCS Super Rugby caps during his time in Wales and is now ready to kick on.

Explaining why he chose Rams, he said: “When I first met (Director of Rugby) Seb (Reynolds) I was struck by his enthusiasm for the club and where he wants it to go.

“As a young prop looking to develop physically and the knowledge of the game, you can’t do much better than Rams.

“The facilities are incredible with the gym, the arena, and the people just seem very nice as well – when I first met Seb he was asking more about my course than rugby.

“At Uni there were loads of top coaches but the Head of Rugby (Hugh Gustafson) was a former prop and I learnt a lot both about technique but also the dark arts, and I’m hoping I can pick up even more from Ant (Marris) and James (Baker).

“I’ve already had some conversations and they’ve got such experience, hopefully they can help me improve because while I believe I understand the game much better than I used to, there’s always room for improvement.

“I love the physical side and contact, and I’m looking forward to bringing that to men’s rugby.”

With pre-season having started last week, Max continued: “It’s been a nice start, all the lads have been very welcoming – you can feel a good bond and everyone’s chatting rather than keeping themselves apart despite there being quite a lot of new boys.

“It’s been good to meet everyone and get an understanding of what Seb and the other coaches want.”

Going back to the start, Max – who went to St Mary’s Primary and the Hardenhuish schools – got into the sport at Chippenham RFC as a nine-year-old, revealing: “My dad (Paul) took me down and I already had a few mates there, so I played quite consistently through the Minis and Juniors.

“I was always pretty small and played in the backs until I had a growth spurt around 14. That meant I was the same size as most of the other guys and made the sport more fun – it did mean my school and club coaches moved me to hooker!

“Later I was also lucky with loads of volunteer coaches, but especially Graham Oatley and then Dean Atkin, who set-up the Colts which meant for those people not going to Academies, we still had the chance to play with our mates in that grey area between 16 to adult rugby. He was great as was my school PE teacher Mr. Fox.”

After winning the Coaches’ Academy Player of the Season, Max’s next move was to Swansea, although he admitted he took a bit of a flyer in enrolling there.

He said: “I never got to visit because it was COVID, but it looked great from afar – the University’s right next to the beach, I could do a history degree and I also knew about the quality of rugby.

“I started in the 4ths social team as a fresher but by the end was in the 2nds, played Varsity in first year and then I was invited back to pre-season with the High-Performance squad and then kept a spot in the 1sts for three years as I did a Masters.

“BUCS is the top league for Universities so it’s pretty relentless – you’re coming up against plenty of Under 20 internationals, others contracted to Prem clubs, so it’s tough but also fun to play against such talent because you’re only going to get better by doing so.

“Each team has their own style, some are very physical, others use their speed and while it’s hard balancing it with a degree, I’ve met loads of lads through rugby who are great mates.”

Swansea secured their stay in the top flight with a play-off win at Brunel University, which Max said was an important legacy to leave.

He continued: “It had been a long, tough season with a fairly young team, but it was great to stay up. The play-off clashed with Varsity, so it was gutting to miss that, but the boys felt we owed it to Swansea to keep them at the top level.

“Winning Varsity the year before was a stand-out moment, there were a lot of guys who were in their final year and to win in front of 12,000 in the (Swansea.com) Liberty Stadium was special. And very loud!”

With less than six weeks till Rams kick-start their campaign with a home friendly against Aberavon, Max ended by saying what it would mean to have an opportunity.

He said: “I’ve got a few mates who play there and the S&C lead was also involved with the Uni, so if I get the chance to play it’ll be great to run out with the stand busy, but also people standing all-round the ground. The atmosphere looks special.”

*Great to have you on board Max, and we look forward to seeing you in action!