Malcolm Marx opens up about his try-scoring exploits: ‘It would be wrong to take credit’
· Citizen
Record-setting Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx continues to climb the national team’s all-time try-scoring charts after a double against Italy over the past weekend, and he will want to add to that tally when the Boks take on France in Saint Denis on Friday night.
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Marx’s two tries in the Boks’ 66-7 hammering of the Italians in Turin last Saturday lifted his tally to 31, which sees him move into fifth place on the all-time Springbok try-scoring chart, and extended his record of being the most prolific forward try-scorer in Bok history, with Schalk Burger back in second spot with 16 tries.
The reigning World Rugby Player of the Year is now in range of three players ahead of him, namely Jaque Fourie (32), Makazole Mapimpi (33) and Joost van der Westhuizen (38), while Bryan Habana’s amazing 67 try haul is definitely out of reach.
By the end of his career Marx will more than likely finish as the Boks’ third highest try scorer, as he is closely chased by prolific wing Kurt-Lee Arendse (27), who will likely pass him at some stage.
Humble Marx
Speaking in Paris ahead of their massive Nations Championship rumble at the Stade de France in a few days’ time, Marx was as humble as ever, explaining it was the work of his fellow forwards, and his eagerness to assist the team, that has got him to the 31-try tally.
“The record isn’t something I’m chasing. It’s about getting the ball over the tryline to benefit the team,” explained Marx from the team hotel on Tuesday.
“The guys setting the maul at the front share most of the work. It would feel wrong to take the credit when I’m just the one popping up with the ball at the back after everyone else has done the heavy lifting.”
Looking ahead to the game against the French, Marx said the Boks can’t take their superb form over the past decade against the hosts for granted, even though they have won nine of the last 10 encounters between them.
Close wins
Four of the last five have, however, been decided by four points or less, including France winning in Marseille in 2022, while the Boks have also picked up two one-point wins in that time, including the World Cup quarterfinal in 2023 on their home turf, which the French still have scars from.
“We can’t rely on past results to get us through. That is the record, but we know how dangerous France are as a team and the threat that they pose, not just (their) set piece but in all facets of the game,” said the hooker.
“There is a form of unpredictability (from them). If you look at how they play and the different styles that they play, it’s really entertaining rugby, and it’s really good, but they’ve always got a dominant and big forward pack up front.
“The narrow win in 2023 obviously left a bit of a scar, and they felt they should have been in the final. But we can only control how we prepare and how we approach the game, and that is to prepare the best we can on the pitch.
“We can’t control things outside our environment, but one thing we can control is the way we prepare and look at ourselves.”