Malcolm could make his Marx
WILL this be the week that rookie hooker Malcolm Marx makes his Springbok debut?
Marx is the only member of the current Bok squad who has yet to be given a chance at Test level this season, and could find himself elevated to a spot among the replacements for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks at AMI Stadium.
Coach Allister Coetzee said some time ago that he wanted to give Marx an opportunity before the home Tests against Australia and New Zealand and, with Saturday’s match the last one before the team return home, Marx could be set for a debut.
Also, with current captain Adriaan Strauss set to quit the team at the end of the year, the coach will want to ensure his two back-up hookers, Bongi Mbonambi and Marx, get decent game time to prepare them for Test rugby once Strauss is gone.
Marx is also a big, physical ballcarrying-type hooker: exactly the kind of player the Boks are lacking right now. There can be little doubt that the 22-year-old, who featured for the SA “A” team against the England Saxons in June, was South Africa’s best No 2 in Super Rugby.
Marx swopping places with Mbonambi would have to be viewed as simply giving the Lions rookie a chance because Mbonambi has done nothing wrong in his six Tests up to now.
In fact, the Stormers man has hardly played, enjoying one minute of playing time in the third Test against Ireland in June, and six minutes from off the bench against Australia last Saturday.
He was an unused replacement in four other Tests.
Also set to be included on the bench and boosting the Boks in the physicality department will be 32-year-old Willem Alberts, who joined the squad yesterday afternoon after arriving from Stade Francais.
The seasoned campaigner, who can play flank and lock, looks to be in supreme physical shape, having played two backto-back games for his French club in the last fortnight.
He, like Marx, is a big ball-carrier and will take Pieter-Steph du Toit’s place on the bench after his promotion to the starting team.
The blond-haired lock has impressed as an impact player in recent weeks, but will get another chance to start on Saturday following the unavailability of beanpole lock Lood de Jager, who picked up a knee injury against the Wallabies.
It will be a massive test for Du Toit, who will not only be the man who will lead the line-out and make the calls, but will also be up against the highly impressive Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock on Saturday.
The good news is the line-out is the one department that has functioned well this season, the Boks winning well over 95% of their line-out throw-ins. Also, Alberts coming into the squad boosts the options in the line-out, while Franco Mostert is also likely to still be there.
With the squad for Saturday’s match to be named tonight, two Bok players are still nursing injuries, but should be fit to play. Fullback Johan Goosen, who hurt his ankle against Australia, didn’t train alongside his teammates yesterday, while lock Eben Etzebeth has bad bruising on his thigh.
Both though are expected to be included in the starting team.