Marx just cannot wait
DREAM REALISED: POWERFUL HOOKER READY FOR TWICKENHAM CAULDRON
Boks’ ‘one-man army’ faces England for the first time.
As a young boy, Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx dreamed of one day playing at the famous Twickenham Stadium.
Today that dream will become a reality for the 24-year-old hooker, who has emerged as a Bok icon after just 20 Test matches, when South Africa square off against England at their London fortress.
“It is one of the biggest, most iconic rugby stadiums in the world, and as a kid I always wanted to play there,” Marx said this week.
Remarkably, Marx was one of only two members of the Bok team who had yet to face England, after he missed the June Test series due to a hamstring injury. The other was Damian Willemse, who would make his first start at fullback today.
With Bok flank Duane Vermeulen warning this week that England based their game plan on pinning teams back in their own territory, which made their exit game difficult, Marx said he could not agree more.
“We are obviously going to have to work very hard,” said Marx, who had earned a reputation of being almost unmovable when he contests at ruck-time.
The Bok scrum was one of their success stories in the recent Rugby Championship, with props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe both having starring roles, and today they would have Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw on the bench to maintain that pressure in the second half.
Marx, however, was preparing to face England co-captain Dylan Hartley, who with 93 caps was the host team’s most experienced player.
“The set-piece will be vital and naturally the weather will play a role,” Marx said.
“So the tight phase dominance will be key and also playing in the right areas of the field will be es- pecially crucial.”
Former England coach Clive Woodward has referred to Marx as a “one-man army”, but in response Marx just smiled and insisted their pack operated as a unit.
“It’s going to be interesting and of course I am excited, but the focus for me personally is to contribute to the team in a meaningful way.”