Marx bracing for massive battle against All Blacks

Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx echoed his team’s sentiments this week that their opening clash in the Castle Lager Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Saturday would be an intense battle, and said the Boks would not only be representing themselves, but the entire nation.

The match at 10bet Ellis Park, which marks the first of four back-to-back clashes against New Zealand, kicks off at 5.10pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

“As a little boy you always dream of representing your country one day,” said the 2025 World Rugby and SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year.

“Representing your country against what is one of the best teams in the world and experiencing it at an international level is a whole other level. If I'm selected for this weekend, I'll try and grab the opportunity with both hands and give everything I can.

“We know we're not just representing ourselves and our families. We've have about 64 or 65 million people we're trying to represent, and we want to do so the best we can on the day. Whatever the occasion and whatever comes on Saturday, we've just got to man up and give the best that we can.”

Given all the hype around the inaugural RGR series, Marx said the team approached this Test as series as they would any other match: “I wouldn't say (this week and competition) is more intense. We've always said we treat each Test match the same. That said, we know the magnitude of this series and how big this weekend's game is going to be and we're trying to prepare accordingly.”

When quizzed about the breakdown battle, which has attracted a fair bit of attention this week as the countdown continues to the match, Marx admitted that it would be a big battle.

“We're doing a lot of analysis and seeing where we can be better from previous games and obviously identifying the threats they pose in that area,” said Marx.

“We're working really hard at the things we need to improve on and bearing in mind the small things they do around the breakdown. We've also been looking at our own opportunities there, which we've been working hard on this past week, so we'll see how the weekend goes if I'm selected.”

Of the prospect of lining up against Codie Taylor at hooker, Marx said while they knew each other well, all the All Black hooker options were quality players.

“We've (Codie and I) obviously played against each other for a good number of years from the Crusaders to the All Blacks and I have the utmost respect for him,” said Marx.

“He's a great rugby player and I like the way he plays the game. He is extremely physical and good at the set-pieces. We’ll have a bit of a laugh and a beer after the game but on the day we both know we've got a job to do.

“That said all their hookers are explosive players and they are very good with ball in hand, on defence and at set-piece, so it's going to be a great challenge for our hookers on the weekend. All three of them are extremely good and if given the opportunity I'm looking forward to it.”

Marx shared scrumhalf Grant Williams’ sentiment that memories from their victory against the All Blacks in Wellington last year was a distant memory: “I definitely don't think we have the edge because of last year. That’s in the past and we've got to deal with what is now in front of us.

“We know the All Blacks will come at us guns blazing, and we've worked extremely hard. We can't rely on what happened in the past to take us through this game. We've got to make sure that we rely on all the work over the last couple of weeks to give us the best chance on the weekend.”

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his matchday team for the encounter on Thursday.