Abrasive, clever and silky: Marx has a new blueprint for the No 2 jersey
DURBAN: When Bismarck du Plessis burst onto the international rugby scene, he tore up the manual on what it was to be a hooker and wrote his own explosive chapter. Not many have been able to follow that story of physicality, athleticism and dogged power, but has Malcolm Marx cracked the code?
Before Marx’s matric certificate was even cool in his hands, comparisons were already being made between the Lions man and then Sharks captain Du Plessis.
When Marx was 19 he was measured in at just a centimetre shorter than the imposing Du Plessis at 1.88m, and was already weighing more than the Bok powerhouse, 113kgs compared to Du Plessis’ 112kgs.
But it was not mere facts and figures that were drawing out the comparisons, it was the the way in which Marx played the game from a position that was always seen as the “third prop”. Coming of age, it is easy to assume that Marx was studying and modelling his game on Du Plessis who was considered one of the world’s best hookers during the youngster’s formative years.
In fact, Marx got his chance to rub shoulders with the former Bok incumbent back in 2014 when the Lions Under-19 side were called in to assist with the Springboks’ preparations in Johannesburg. Marx was named Forward of the Year in the Lions Under-19 side previous to this encounter with the Bok hooker, so understandably his path to last week’s blockbusting performance seemed almost predestined.
After being named Man of the Match on Saturday, it would seem that Marx’s name is probably the first on the list, and it is timeous that the youngster has decided that he is ready to shine.
Last year’s horrible year for the Springboks was down to immeasurable reasons, but delving deeper into the micro units, the leadership, and hooking position, was problematic. Skipper Adriaan Strauss began his tenure under the pump when the Boks lost against Ireland in the first match of the year – his leadership was lacking, and his own general play was heavily scrutinised.
Beyond that, there was not much hope coming through to take over from Strauss. Bulls man Bongi Mbonambi was named as the man on the bench, but the bench is where he seemed to remain as Bok coach Allister Coetzee was not ready to remove his captain unless absolutely necessary. Mbonambi had no chance to stake a claim in the Bok Jersey last year, and when Marx was thrown in the deep end, his lineout throwing was under pressure.
Fast forward to the new season and youngsters Marx and Mbonambi no longer have to sit behind a player who checked out long before the year came to an end. The pressure to be the incumbent has been thrust on the two hookers and it seems Marx has emerged as the one to take it in his stride.
Marx can become a vital cog in the Bok forward pack, a pack that used to be feared the world round. Physicality was a by-word for the Springboks when the likes of Du Plessis, Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha and Juan Smith were in the mix, but in this rebuilding stage we have now have Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit – and Marx.
Marx is the type of player who will instil fear in the opposition going forward, in this respect, he is very much in the mold of Du Plessis.
Remember when the former Sharks man tackled Dan Carter so hard – legally – that the referee yellow-carded him?
The era of Du Plessis is over, and although he was the blueprint, Marx is building a new hooker’s game on those foundations, his own game in a modern way. Marx is hard and abrasive, but incredibly clever and silky, and there is no better union for him to be at than the Lions.
Marx dropped his shoulder and knocked some French heavies out the way at Loftus, but he also popped up in broken play to make linking passes to speedy backs, something not in the front-row handbook.
As an all action-hooker Marx is going beyond the call of duty. He has his role as a specialist, and he has his goals as a front-row forward, but when he is making passes, linking plays and working hard off the ball, you no longer have just a scrummager, you have another Another loose forward. loose forward.
The Boks have chosen a loose forward pack that is silky and light with Warren Whitely, Siya Kolisi and Oupa Mohoje currently starting, but to throw in a hulking strongman like Marx, who wouldn’t look out of place on the flank, and the Boks can add more and more strings to their bow.
But, and it is a rather big one, Marx needs to improve his line-out throwing.
He felt the pressure in his first Test last year, but looked sharper against the French.
When it comes down to it, and the Boks are on the All Blacks five-metre line with a huge maul in the offing, anyone would take a 100% lineout hit than one big bosh in midfield sometime during the game.
The man is young, and he is in a position that only gets better with age, and the coach has hinted that he will let his players make their mistakes. He probably is not the next Du Plessis, he is much more than that, beginning his story in the Springbok annals. IT’S something so simple yet, if well-executed, it can be a wonderful part of rugby football. That “simple thing” I’m referring to is lineout variation and speed.
We’ve seen various teams do it at various levels – the Cheetahs in Super Rugby, the New Zealanders in Super Rugby and Tests. There’s always that one team that becomes the talk of the rugby town for trying something at the set-piece and, even better, pulling it off and setting up a superb attack (or scoring from it).
Think of the Cheetahs. Whether it’s various lineouts splits, or their use of decoy jumpers and the hooker throwing the ball deep, directly to an eagerly-awaiting flanker at the back of the set-piece, or three backs in their lineout with winger Raymond Rhule acting as a jumper and centre Clinton Swart acting as a lifter, there are many examples of their innovative thinking. Oh, and let’s not forget how Franco Smith’s men once cleverly threw the ball to the first jumper before he popped it back to his hooker, who ran down the blind side.
Then there are teams who focus on traditional lineout methods to quickly get the ball in and out to an attacking backline ready to do damage. I will never forget the contrast between the Irish and the Springboks in last year’s incoming series. The Irish threw the ball in at lightning speed with a minimum of fuss, while Adriaan Strauss often took an age to get the Bok lineout going.
Which is why I was so happy to see a clever lineout ploy work so well for the Boks in their 37-14 victory over France in the series-opening Test at Cronje was brilliant. Quick tap-down inside pass to Ross
Loftus. Yes, there were quite a few great moments - from Andries Coetzee’s try-creating run, step and offload to Malcolm Marx’s insane skill and power. But one of my favourites was their lineout work in the build-up to debutant scrumhalf Ross Cronje’s try.
It was simply spectacular. The way they used Sharks big man Jean-Luc du Preez as a decoy jumper and the way Marx got a perfect, bullet-like throw away to skipper Warren Whiteley at the back of the lineout was tops. And that quick tap-down inside pass by Whiteley to Cronje immediately after catching the ball in mid-air was brilliant.
It was unexpected. The French left a massive gap in their defence and Cronje quickly capitalised on it as he paced to a relatively open try line (yes, there wasn’t a fullback at the back, but that’s not the point). And that, right
there is a great example of what quick reaction at a lineout, combined with some variation, can do.
Yes, Eben Etzebeth also poached two lineout balls in the match and the Boks got some good possession for the resulting driving mauls, and it was great to see their lineout function like that. All in all their set-piece functioned well. But that lineout just before Cronje’s try was the highlight for me.
I would love to see the Boks do things like that more often. We always speak about the dangers of predictability on attack, but predictability at and from the lineout can be just as big a problem.
So, as the Boks get ready for the second Test against the French, I hope there will be more moments like that. Quick, unpredictable moments in lineouts ... and in other areas of the game too.