How Malcolm Marx became the best hooker in world rugby
The Springboks have been blessed with a number of quality hookers since returning from the isolation wilderness. The starting hooker in the first Test after returning to international competition against the All Blacks on 15 August 1992 at Ellis Park was the hard-running, powerful Uli Schmidt.
Since Schmidt there has been some genuine quality in the Springbok No 2 jersey including World Cup winning captain and Springbok legend John Smit. The in-your-face Bismarck Du Plessis was another in the traditional robust and powerful mould of Springbok hookers. Both Smit and Du Plessis added so much value to the national set-up both from a leadership point of view as well as at the set-piece and in the tight loose.
In Malcolm Marx there is a relatively new Springbok hooker who is making huge waves and could join the great names above as a Springbok stalwart. Marx moved to the front row from the flank during his high school years at King Edward VII School (KES). KES, which boasts numerous sporting legends including former SA Cricket captain Graeme Smith and Springbok flyer Bryan Habana now has a potential sporting legend-in-the-making in Malcolm Marx.
Marx who made the SA Schools squad in 2012 has been destined for big things since his schoolboy days and he has certainly come of age in the past 18 months. I recall seeing Marx play for the University of Johannesburg before he hit the big time and could not believe the size of the front-rower, he was impressive even in his early years on the rugby conveyor belt.
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The 24-year-old Lions frontrow recently earned his 50th Super Rugby cap and has been the go-to-guy for his franchise. He has scored 23 tries for the Lions at just below a try every second game, which is noteworthy for most players never mind a front row forward.
The Johannesburg-based side has played some expansive rugby over the past few Super Rugby seasons, especially from a South African point of view where they are traditionally more conservative from a playing style. Marx is well suited to the Lions style of play, he has a superb engine and his mobility around the park is unbelievable.
The young hooker made his debut for the Springboks in a tough 41-13 defeat to New Zealand in the 2016 Rugby Championship coming off the wood for captain Adriaan Strauss at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Since his debut the Germiston-born hooker’s progress was steady in finding his feet at international level.
The 25-24 defeat against the All Blacks at Newlands in October 2017 was a major turning point in his career. Marx got through a mountain of work in the loose, found his jumpers with precision at lineout time and also got on the score sheet. Scribes from all over the world including New Zealand were raving about Marx’s performance. There was a new sheriff in town and Marx seems to have grown massively in confidence since this Test. At Newlands he showed he belongs at Test level.
#Lions Hooker Malcolm Marx is the Season Leader for breakdown turnovers in the 2018 #SuperRugby regular season with 14 forced penalties and 5 pilfers #LIOvJAG pic.twitter.com/YBYXHTGhW7
— Fox Sports Lab (@FoxSportsLab) July 19, 2018
There was uncertainty from a selection point of view in terms of who would be the starting No 2 for the Springboks over the past two-and-a-half years with Adriaan Strauss, Bismarck Du Plessis and a few others in the frame over this time. Over the past 12 months this debate has certainly been put to bed and Marx’s name will be one of the first on the team sheet, the rest will now be fighting for the reserve hooking position.
A notable mention for Bongi Mbonambi in the series against England means that he will probably be the backup hooker after some good performances. There is the constant will-he-or-won’t-he surrounding Bismarck Du Plessis and his return to international duty. Du Plessis was recently called up to the Springbok squad for the England series before withdrawing due to injury.
While for some time there were calls for Du Plessis’ return from France by the South African public these are now a distant memory as Marx is seen as the man to definitely wear the Green and Gold number two jersey. He is among the leading hookers in the world and recently Nick Mallett, the well-respected former Springbok coach, stated that Marx is the best hooker in the world at present.
Marx who stands at 1.89 metres and 114 kilograms is a man-mountain in terms of size and has pace to burn for a big unit. There is no weakness in his game and the only concern would be wear and tear on the body and injuries, which are part of parcel of the modern game.
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In the early part of his Springbok career there was a little bit of concern around his throwing at lineout time, these concerns have well and truly been put to bed. His lineout throwing is well and truly of international standard and he is consistently hitting the mark. At scrum time he is extremely powerful and not often a front row with Marx in it goes backwards.
Marx has no peer in the hooking position when it comes to loose play, this refers to pilfering for the ball at ruck time where he has become a specialist in turning ball over and slowing ball down – it is like having a fourth loose forward. Once over the ball it is very rare to see him moved off it such is his power. Marx is a scary proposition with ball-in-hand and carries strongly, he also has the intelligence to distribute when the time is right.
He has the strength of an old school front rower and pace of a modern day flanker and the challenge now for Marx is two-fold. Firstly playing consistently well where he is the best hooker in world rugby, he is well and truly on the way to this if not there already. Secondly he needs to demand world-class standards from himself and his teammates and vice versa. This in turn will lead to positive results for the national side and he will certainly join the recent list of Springbok legends in the hooking position.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments