Malcolm Marx

Malcom Marx
Marx playing a match in 2021
Full nameMalcolm Justin Marx
Date of birth (1994-07-13) 13 July 1994 (age 30)
Place of birthGermiston, South Africa
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight116 kg (18 st 4 lb; 256 lb)
SchoolKing Edward VII School
UniversityUniversity of Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Current team Kubota Spears
Youth career
2007–2015 Golden Lions
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 UJ 8 (20)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2018 Golden Lions XV 13 (10)
2014–2017 Golden Lions 17 (5)
2014–2019 Lions 68 (150)
2020 NTT Shining Arcs 6 (25)
2021– Kubota Spears 31 (130)
Correct as of 9 August 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 S.A. Academy
2012 South Africa Schools 2 (0)
2014 South Africa Under-20 1 (5)
2016 South Africa 'A' 2 (0)
2016– South Africa 71 (100)
2016 Springbok XV 1 (0)
Correct as of 31 August 2024
Medal record
Men's Rugby union
Representing  South Africa
Rugby World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2019 Japan Squad
Gold medal – first place 2023 France Squad

Malcolm Justin Marx (born 13 July 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national rugby team and Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One. His regular position is hooker, but he did play as a flanker at youth level for the Golden Lions. He is widely regarded[according to whom?] as one of the best hookers in World Rugby.

Youth and Varsity rugby

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Marx represented the Golden Lions at several youth tournaments. He played for them at the 2007 Under-13 Craven Week competition and the 2010 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week competition.

During his schooling, Marx attended King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. Marx was included in a South Africa Academy side in 2011[1] and, following the 2012 Under-18 Craven Week competition, he was named in the South Africa Schools side[2] and played against France[3] and England[4] in August 2012.

In 2013, Marx played for UJ in the 2013 Varsity Cup competition, making eight appearances and scoring four tries.[5]

Marx was also a regular for the Golden Lions U19 side during the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship competition. He made thirteen appearances in total, scoring four tries – one of them in the final against the Blue Bulls U19.[6] He was also named as the Golden Lions U19 Forward of the Year for his displays.[7]

Marx was included in the South Africa Under-20 side for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship.[8]

Golden Lions / Lions

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Marx made his senior debut for the Golden Lions in the 2014 Vodacom Cup by starting in their 18–16 opening day victory over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.[9]

Marx was also included in the Lions Super Rugby squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season.[10]

After a stellar 2017 for the Lions, Marx picked up a number of awards for the Lions including Super Rugby Player of the Year, Supporters Player of the Year, Players Player of the Year and Most Valued Player of the Year.[11] Marx continued this form into the 2018 Super Rugby season, finishing the competition as the Lions' top try-scorer of the year and he is now the joint top try scorer (27) in Lions history, a record he shares with current team mates Courtnall Skosan and Lionel Mapoe.

Kubota Spears

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Marx joined the Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay, a top Japanese rugby club in the Japan rugby League one, in August 2020.[12][13] He has been a regular starter. he however missed the 2023 club season due to a knee injury that also ruled him out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[14]

South Africa 'A'

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In 2016, Marx was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring England Saxons team.[15] He came on as a replacement in their first match in Bloemfontein,[16] but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.[17] He then started the second match of the series, a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons in George.[18]

Springboks

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2016–2017

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Marx was first selected for the Springboks for the 2016 Rugby Championship, making three appearances for his country during 2016. Marx made his debut for the Springboks on 17 September 2016, the same date as team mate Francois Louw's 50th test. Marx replaced Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss in the 43rd minute, but had a disappointing debut, with South Africa losing to New Zealand 13-41. Marx earned his first start for the Springboks on 5 November 2016, putting a 51-minute performance into a 31-31 draw against the Barbarians Club, prior to being replaced by Bongi Mbonambi.

After a series of outstanding performances for the Lions, Marx became a regular starter for South Africa in 2017. On 10 June 2017, he was named man of the match for his performance in the first of three tests against the French.[19] Although his performance against New Zealand in the third round of the 2017 Rugby Championship was highly criticised, Marx performed to a world-class level throughout most of the competition and played in every test of the competition, with South Africa finishing in third place. Marx was not subbed off in either test against Australia during the competition, a rare feat for a hooker, the first test of which a 23-23 draw and the second test against Australia being a 27-27 draw. Marx lost out on winning Man of the Match to Australian back Kurtley Beale on both occasions.

Marx took his international career to new heights on 7 October 2017, with his performance against New Zealand becoming much-talked about and publicised, arguably his best individual performance to date. The performances of Marx, as well as fellow forwards Steven Kitshoff and newly-appointed Springbok Captain Eben Etzebeth allowed South Africa to compete well against the All Blacks, with Marx making four turnovers and many tackles on defence, also setting up replacement loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez for a try and scoring the final try of the game. Marx's try was converted by Lions teammate Elton Jantjies to make the final score a narrow 24-25 loss to the All Blacks. Marx completed his 2017 rugby season by appearing in three of the four Springbok tests during the 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals.

In 2017 Marx scooped a number of awards, he was voted SA Rugby Player of the Year and SA Rugby Young Player of the Year. He was also voted South African Super Rugby Player of the Tournament.[20]

2019 Rugby World Cup

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Marx was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[21] South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.[22]

2023 Rugby World Cup

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Marx was part of South Africa's squad that won the 2023 Rugby World Cup; however, he missed most of the tournament due to a knee injury suffered in training.[23]

International tries

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As of 29 September 2024 [24]
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  France Johannesburg, South Africa Ellis Park Stadium 2017 France rugby union tour of South Africa 24 June 2017 Win 35–12
2  Australia Perth, Australia Perth Oval 2017 Rugby Championship 9 September 2017 Draw 23–23
3  New Zealand Cape Town, South Africa Newlands Stadium 2017 Rugby Championship 7 October 2017 Loss 24–25
4  New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand Wellington Regional Stadium 2018 Rugby Championship 15 September 2018 Win 34–36
5  Italy Fukuroi, Japan Shizuoka Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 4 October 2019 Win 49–3
6  Georgia Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Stadium 2021 July rugby union tests 2 July 2021 Win 40–9
7  Argentina Port Elizabeth, South Africa Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 2021 Rugby Championship 21 August 2021 Win 29–10
8  Australia Gold Coast, Australia Robina Stadium 2021 Rugby Championship 12 September 2021 Loss 28–26
9
10  Wales Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals 6 November 2021 Win 18–23
11  Wales Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Stadium 2022 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa 5 July 2022 Win 32–29
12  Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina Estadio Libertadores de América 2022 Rugby Championship 17 September 2022 Win 20–36
13
14  Italy Genoa, Italy Stadio Luigi Ferraris 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals 19 November 2022 Win 21–63
15  New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand Mount Smart Stadium 2023 Rugby Championship 15 July 2023 Loss 35–20
16  Wales Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 19 August 2023 Win 16–52
17  New Zealand London, England Twickenham Stadium 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 25 August 2023 Win 7–35
18  Australia Perth, Australia Perth Stadium 2024 Rugby Championship 17 August 2024 Win 12–30
19
20  New Zealand Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town Stadium 2024 Rugby Championship 7 September 2024 Win 18–12
21  Argentina Mbombela, South Africa Mbombela Stadium 2024 Rugby Championship 28 September 2024 Win 48–7

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "SA Schools and SA Academy Teams Announced". Rugby15. 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ^ "SA schools side named". Sport24. 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–7 France". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 36–29 England". South African Rugby Union. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2013 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Rising stars in action as Vodacom Cup kicks off – Round 1 Preview". South African Rugby Union. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  7. ^ "6 Honoured at Golden Lions Rugby Union Awards". High School Sports Magazine. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Junior Springboks named for JWC 2014". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards XV 16–18 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Lions name Super Rugby squad". SuperSport. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Lions 2017 Awards". www.timeslive.co.za. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  12. ^ Said, Nick (19 August 2020). "Hooker Malcolm Marx signs for Japanese club". BusinessLIVE.
  13. ^ "Kubota Spears confirm signing of Bok hooker Malcolm Marx". Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  14. ^ Tshwaku, Khanyiso. "Boks suffer hammer blow with Malcolm Marx ruled out of Rugby World Cup". Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Ackermann to coach SA 'A' against Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Youth and experience for SA 'A' opener against Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 24–32 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 26–29 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Boks score emphatic win". Supersport. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Marx the big winner at SA Rugby awards". Sport24. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  21. ^ "South Africa World Cup squad: Siya Kolisi wins fitness battle, Eben Etzebeth backed, Aphiwe Dyantyi dropped". Independent. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  22. ^ "England 12-32 South Africa: Springboks win World Cup for record-equalling third time". BBC. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2023: South Africa's Malcolm Marx out of tournament". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Malcolm Marx - Test matches". 5 January 2022.
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